He Didn't Have To Be
by RosieRathbone
Summary: Rebellious Edward never wanted to become a father. But life dealt him a different hand of cards. "And then all of a sudden, oh it seemed so strange to me. How we went from something's missing to a family" AH OOC.
1. Famous In a Small Town

_**A/N- Edward's swearing shouldn't be a problem if you're old enough to read 'M' rated stories. But it's a warning to those who don't approve of that language. **_

_Every last one, route one, rural heart's  
>Got a story to tell,<br>Every Grandma, in-law, ex-girlfriend,  
>Maybe knows it just a little too well.<em>

_(Famous In a Small Town – Miranda Lambert)_

**Bella**

The peculiar looks began the second I rose myself steadily out of Charlie's cruiser. This is the first time I have arrived at school in three months, and I haven't come alone. You could tell instantly, just by looking at me, why I had been absent for so long. My winter jacket and scarf that I'm wearing couldn't hide the bump that protrudes from my abdomen. The teachers knew my reasons – they had been kind enough to email me work for the duration of my time at home. None of the students knew – even the ones that really should know – thanks to teacher-student confidentiality. Now it's time to return to school for the end of the winter semester, six months pregnant and resembling a planet.

For the first trimester of my pregnancy I managed to hide my secret from everyone – there had been no bump showing, and as a tiny one formed, I covered it with baggy hoodies. My father, Charlie, has been amazing throughout the whole process. Like any father, he wasn't pleased when he found out – I'm only seventeen after all – but I'm a stubborn person, I had made it clear to him that I was not giving up my child. I've never believed in abortions and I couldn't put him or her up for adoption; knowing that my child was out there and I wasn't the one watching all the milestones go by, is heart-breaking.

I couldn't afford to miss anymore school – getting work via email isn't the same by any means. So here I am now, making my way to class as quickly as possible, blocking out all the murmurs around me.

_*Gasp*_ _Bella's returned. _

_I knew she's a whore –it's always the quiet ones._

_I head that she was pregnant – you can't hide stories in a small town – I wonder who the father is._

Try as I might I could not suppress a groan that forced its way out of me. Oh, I know who the father is – I just haven't thought of a way to tell him. How do I tell him? _'Hey, er, remember, like, six months ago, we may have had a bit too much to drink at your brothers' twenty-first? Yeah, this is the outcome' ? _Don't think that would go down too well to be honest.

_Shiiit._

**xxx**

"Hey! Bella!" A chirpy voice rose from the crowd of people behind me. I considered pretending not to hear her and keep on walking, but she would catch up with me easily. I don't want to be a bitch, she's lovely, but not the person I want to see right now. Her tiny hand tapped my shoulder and she squealed my name some more. "It's so good to see you, Bella! It's been so long!"

"Yeah, it's, er, good to see you too, Alice."

"And a congratulations is in order me thinks." Alice had a large cheesy grin on her face.

On instinct, my hand stroked the bump, "thanks," I mumbled.

"So… who's the father?"

Your brother.

"Oh, he's, um…"

"Alice."

Shit, he's right behind you. What a coincidence.

Alice spun around and stomped her foot, "Edward wait a minute, I'm talking to Bella." Edward looked from his sister, to my stomach, to my eyes, and then to the floor.

_Please don't put two and two together – now is not the time to find out._

"So, Bella, who's the father?"

He's still standing right behind you. And looks as if he is trying to solve the biggest math problem known to man. Yup, he's going to work it out.

"Could I, um, talk to you later, Alice? I have to, you know, pee and stuff and then get to class."

Alice swatted the air with her hand like she was trying to hit a fly. "Yeah, no problem. If you need any help, just ask, 'kay?"

"Sure. Bye."

I couldn't get away from the situation any faster.

**xxx**

My first class went better than expected. People were curious and my teacher treated me like I am enable to do anything by myself, but I hadn't expected anything else. I had a few people asking me when I was due and if I knew whether I was having a boy or a girl, apart from the obvious conversation starter, no-one else particularly talked to me.

My surprise came when I left the room and someone grabbed me by the shoulder. After the initial shock wore off, I turned my head to the left to meet Edward's hard gaze. "I need to talk to you," he muttered. I didn't get the chance to reply as he walked towards an exit door without muttering another word.

I didn't have to ask what he needed; it was obvious what he had to talk to me about. But who would start talking first? Edward didn't seem the sort of person to talk if he didn't have to. He answered my question. We were standing just near the schools' tiny quadrangle, the odd student would run past in a rush to class, but we're alone other than that.

Edward has his back to me; I could hear the deep breaths he was taking. I didn't know whether that is due to the cold weather or anger. I hoped for the former.

"It's mine, isn't it?"

My silence answered his question. Edward turned to face me, stared directly at the bump. "Fucking brilliant," He spat, running his hand roughly through his messy bronze hair.

"How-how did you find out?"

"Because it doesn't take a fucking genius, Bella." I had to take a step back from his rage. "When were you going to tell me?"

"Today – I was going to tell you today."

"Why had you kept it a secret for so long?"

"I was scared…that you wouldn't want anything to do with it." Your emotions go haywire when you're pregnant, you cannot control when you cry – it just happens. Tears pooled in my eyes, I hope Edward knows pregnant ladies cry easily.

He bent forward and looked me straight in the eyes. "You've got that right. If I had known sooner, I would have forced your to abort it." He spoke with such hatred it shook me to the bone.

"You don't mean that. When you see your child you will be thankful that that never happened."

After all, fathers only become fathers when they see their child.

"Ha! You say that like I want anything to do with it! You and _it _don't mean a thing to me."

I had to leave, I had to leave now. "I hope you don't regret what you just said."

I feel like I'm on an episode of '16 and Pregnant'.

**Edward**

Fuck her.

I knew something was up when she never came to school for months. And then _bam _she returns out of the blue with a stomach the size of Rosalie's ego. As soon as I saw her, I knew the kid was mine. I'm not irresponsible – I've always used protection, but the tension and lust had been too much and it just… happened. The days and weeks following that night, I couldn't get the 'what if's' off my mind. It must have been a sign. 'Cause look what happened.

Do I regret doing it? No. In the back of my mind, I think I had always wanted to – it's just the outcome that I regret – my dad is going to kill me.

I'm seventeen – I'm not old enough to be a fucking father. Bella can complain all she wants; she's not getting any help from me. I don't even want my name on its birth certificate.

I didn't even know what to think right now.

I just…

I just had to get out of here.

Taking my phone out from my pocket, I sent Alice a brief text: _Get a lift home from Jasper._

She sent a reply a couple minutes later when I was in my car and ready to leave.

_Okay :) _

That's one of the things I love about Alice. She knows that I bunk off school some times, and knows not to press any further on the situation or reason why.

**xxx**

"Edward? Why are you home so soon?" Esme had been walking down the stairs when I stormed into the house. I threw my bag to the floor, groaned into my hands, and then walked into the kitchen; dismissing her question and the ones that followed. "What's happened?"

I didn't know how to feel right now. Was I angry? Maybe – it's not Bella's fault that she is in this situation, but she could have at least told me about it. I think I'm feeling more frustrated than anything – I don't want to have anything to do with this kid, but it is still mine, and so I will still have to contribute towards its life.

Taking a can of coke from the fridge, I stood at the kitchen window with the cold drink slowly numbing my hands. I could sense Esme standing behind me; she'll leave me for a few minutes before getting something out of me.

"Are you going to tell me what's happened now?"

I took a deep breath before mumbling my answer. "Bella Swan is pregnant," Esme gasped, "…with my baby." I had rendered her speechless.

"…Are you sure?"

"Well we haven't received the DNA results yet, but I'm pretty certain." My answer was flippant.

"When did this happen?"

Again, I took a short while before I answered. "Emmett's twenty-first." Why was Bella even invited to that party? That's what boggles me.

"So she'll be due around February?" It was a rhetorical question. "What are your thoughts?"

"I told her I don't want anything to do with it."

Esme gasped again, "are you sure that's what you want to do? Why don't you sit down and we'll talk about it?"

"No… I want to be on my own for a while."

I left the un-opened coke can on the counter and plodded up to my room. Blocking out the world and leaving myself to wallow in the fucked-up situation I have been landed in.

**xxx**

I spent the majority of the day in my room, listening to music, sleeping and having the occasional smoke on my balcony. It was when I was having my cigarette that I saw Alice being dropped off, skipping into the house like an energised bunny. I don't know if Bella had told her or if she was still to find out – I hoped Esme could break the news to her.

By seven that evening I was still ignoring everyone. I dismissed the call for dinner – I would get something later if I felt hungry. All my hunger had disappeared. The sky had turned dark and a chill wind had picked up. There's something about smoking in the dark that I enjoy. Maybe it's watching the white smoke contrast against the darkness, lifting away and fading into nothing. Slipping a Malboro from the packet, I grabbed my lighter and went back to my balcony to light up.

I didn't realise anyone had come into my room until Esme was standing next to me. Some of the smoke wafted in her direction and she brushed it away with her hand. She knew I smoke – isn't happy about it of course, but there isn't much she can do about it. I finished quickly, stubbing it out on a small puddle of water on the balcony wall, and then flicked the butt into the distance.

"Your father and I have had a chat."

I rolled my eyes, "go on."

"We understand why you feel so strongly about not wanting to deal with the baby – becoming a parent is a huge commitment and you both are so young. But whatever the situation, it is still our grandchild and I want you to tell Bella that we will help her in whichever way we can."

"Can't we just let her get on with it? She has her own parents who can help."

"No Edward, because it's not as easy as that. Bella didn't ask for this to happen either – but because you couldn't keep your dick in your pants, she's left to deal with it. We all, as a family, will help her. You don't have to see the baby if that is what you want, but your father and I will make sure that you give her a decent sum of money every month."

"Right, okay, whatever."

"And enough of this snarly attitude. Whether you like it or not, you are going to be a father in a few months and you need to start acting like one."

**xxx**

_**A/N- He won't act like this normally and the swearing will cut down majorly as the story progresses. **_

_**Thank you for reading :) **_


	2. Make a Mistake

_**A/N- Thank you all very much for the reviews :) I appreciate every one. So you all know, the title is based on the song by Brad Paisley – and the lyrics in the summary are from said song. **_

_Nobody goes through this life and does  
>Everything perfectly<br>We're all going to fail so you might as well  
>Make a mistake with me.<em>

_(Make a Mistake – Brad Paisley)_

_**Bella.**_

I've realised a plus side to being pregnant – your baby is like a human alarm clock. Seriously, ever since my nudger figured out what it could do with their legs, it's been non-stop kick, kick, kick and it always seems to be around six in the morning. But I'm not complaining, I love feeling my baby kick and move around – it's special. I had been talking to Alice yesterday at lunch – after she laughed hysterically at the amount I had to eat – she is certain that I'm having a boy 'cause apparently boys are always bigger than girls and you can tell the size of your baby by the size of your bump – obviously. She'd even made a bet with Jasper – if she's right, he gives her five dollars.

So from now on, I'm going to refer to the baby as 'he' because it's easier and a bit disrespectful saying 'it'. My baby is not an 'it'. Edward may think so… but he can take a running jump. Yeah, I'm upset that he reacted so harshly, and it's not like I haven't given him the option – he decided himself that he didn't want to be a part. As a child growing up, I only had the one parent and I don't regret that or wish that my mother had played more of a part in my life. As long as you have at least one person in this life that loves you, that should be all that matters.

I could hear Charlie plodding around downstairs, probably getting his breakfast, so it's about time I got up. I fully understand what Juno meant when she said that the only bit she's worried about is when 'they put that elastic band thing around the front of your jeans.' – I feel your pain girl; these bitches do my head in. That film has been my Bible; I have watched it so many times I've lost count.

The trousers aren't _that _bad, but I cannot wait for the time to come when I can forget all about them. I wore a plain black long-sleeved t-shirt and a grey cardigan over that – it tied together above the bump and floated down the sides. My hair is brushed into a haphazard ponytail and a tiny swish of mascara is added to my lashes.

My dear old dad had my breakfast waiting for me when I got down the stairs.

It included:

Wholemeal toast  
>Orange juice,<br>Selection of fruit  
>…and ketchup.<p>

What? I'm pregnant…

Yesterday I had been craving dill pickles yesterday, and now ketchup seems to be the only thing I want. The hell? I don't even like tomatoes!

"Are you going to try and talk to Edward again?" Charlie leant back against the sink taking a sip of coffee from his favourite mug. I finished my mouthful of ketchup on toast before answering.

"Er… I don't know. I might leave him to cool down and see if he says anything first."

Charlie nodded. "Just remember that it's a big shock to him – Edward probably wasn't thinking clearly when he said what he said."

"Yeah… I don't know. But I'm not going to force him into anything. At least I can tell baby about his father and hopefully I'll be able to get in contact with him when baby gets older. If he wants to meet his dad, I'm not going to do anything to stop that. I just hope Edward would be willing to see him."

Charlie washed out his coffee mug, sat it bottom-up on the draining board and then took the seat across from where I sat. "Let me tell you something," he started, waiting until he had my complete attention before continuing. "I had only been a little older than you are now when Renee had been expecting you, and I'm going to be honest, I wasn't…. what's the word… thrilled to become a parent that young either. But as soon as you were born, everything changed. You start thinking '_why had I been so against it in the first place?_' nothing matters more than that child in your arms. Edward may say all this stuff now, but I promise you, he will care for this baby as soon as he sees it."

_Aww shit, my dad can't say stuff like that to me, man!_

I held back my tears as best I could, but the odd few trickled down my cheeks and dropped onto my clothing.

"Are you ready to go?" I glanced up at the clock, oops, we've been sitting here longer than I thought.

"Yep, give me two minutes."

"Okay, I'll be in the car."

**xxx**

I didn't receive as many looks today, but I think they were all still getting used to my little addition. Charlie dropped me off at the only open slot in the parking lot. I had to cross the road to the get to the building, so I stood and waited as he drove off before crossing.

"Bella!" I turned my head to my name calling, and saw Alice all at the other end of the lot, kissing Jasper chastely on the lips and then ran steadily along the ice to get to me. Because my mind was on Alice running across sleek ice like a pro, I never noticed a car trying to get in the parking space I'm blocking.

The blaring horn surprised the hell out of me. I turned to the side so quickly; I must have messed up my balance. My feet were slipping from under me; they were skating back and forth over the ice, unable to grab any sort of grip.

"Bella be careful!"

Before anyone could do anything, I fell – the whole process flashed before my eyes. My side hit off the ice causing a stinging pain to radiate through my hip as well as an unusual pain in my back. I feared for my baby's life.

_Please, please, please._

I wrapped myself in the foetal position, mumbling 'please' continuously. A crowd had formed, worried, anxious and scared voices all merged into one. Alice had crouched down, touching my knee and stroking my hair; she whispered comforting words as well as ordering someone to phone for an ambulance.

_Please, please, please._

"You'll be okay, Bella. My nephew will be okay too."

_Please, please, please._

**xxx**

_**Edward.**_

"_Shit!"_

Why did nobody wake me? School started five minutes ago and I only just woke up!

"Bollocks."

Chucking off the boxers I wore to bed, I tore on a new pair as well as the first pair of jeans I laid my hands on and a t-shirt that had been in my recently ironed pile of clothes. I didn't have time to apply toothpaste to a toothbrush etc. etc. instead I squeezed a pea-sized drop of paste onto my finger and rubbed it vigorously over my teeth, flinging the tube of paste into the sink and gargling with a mouthful of water.

I shoved my feet into some socks and then my favourite shoes, grabbed a jacket and phone before running out my room. I stole a bar of chocolate from the cupboard and ate it in three large bites. I washed that down with some orange juice straight from the carton. My bag still sat at the door from when I chucked it there yesterday.

I only stopped to catch a breath when sitting safely in my car. It had only taken me ten minutes to get out the house. Brilliant – a new personal record. My phone had been flashing when I saw it this morning, so I took this spare thirty seconds to see who loved me now.

Alice.

Three missed calls from her actually.

Meh, probably asking where I was.

Throwing my phone onto the dash board, I switched on the engine and tore out the drive way. Esme better not drive home and see me drive this fast – she can be scary when angry.

Thankfully, I made it to school without any sighting from the mother. Except Ms Cope caught me sneaking into school and asked for an explanation for yesterday and this morning.

"Er… I was, uh… ill yesterday and had to go home and I slept in this morning." Not far from the truth – only a little white lie.

"Okay, because of this morning's disturbances I'll let it go for now…" She shot me a stern look.

What disturbance this morning?

Oh well, I'll find out sooner or later.

All the books for the first class were in my locker. I had been walking past the girls bathrooms on my way too my locker when the door opened, then someone screamed my name. It was Alice.

"Edward! Oh, my God! Where have you _been_?"

"Erm… at home?"

Alice couldn't stop freaking out for some reason. "I've been trying to call you! You have to get to the hospital, now!"

"What? Hospital? Why? What's wrong?"

"Bella slipped on the ice – you have to go!"

The fuck? I don't have to do shit.

"I don't have time for this, Alice."

Never, and I mean never, have I seen a look so… outraged appear on Alice's face.

"You…" She had to calm down first, "… your baby could be in potential danger and you would rather sit in a math class? I… how the hell are we related?" Alice didn't give a fuck if anyone could hear, she shouted her shit loud and clear. Her eyes grew red and watery, her tiny body shaking in, what I assumed, was anger.

"Look, I'm -."

"Don't! Don't you dare say a word to me, Edward; I've never wanted to throw a punch more than now. Don't provoke me."

"I've got to go…"

Alice didn't reply until I reached the end of the hallway. And when she did, she shouted every word.

"Yeah! Have a fun math class! I'll tell you later whether your child is alive or not!"

**xxx**

"Mr Cullen?"

I shook my head back into the real world. "Huh?"

My English teacher tapped his foot with a frown on his face. "Did you hear my question?"

I looked at my notebook and at the white board, trying to remember something that he might have said. "Er, no. Sorry Sir."

"Pay attention next time."

Fat chance of that happening – I haven't been able to concentrate all day.

Alice's final words rang around my head.

_I'll tell you later whether your child is alive or not!_

_Whether your child is alive or not!_

_Child._

_Alive._

… _or not._

_Alive._

_Or not._

_Not alive._

_My child._

_**Mine.**_

_Not alive._

… _dead._

Why does this bother me? I had said I didn't want anything to do with it, why is it affecting me?

_Because you love it._

No I don't! I don't love anything about it!

_Alive or not…_

_No first cries._

_No first smile._

_No first laugh._

_No first word – momma?... dada?_

_No first steps._

My throat tightened like someone had it in an iron grip.

Tears were forming.

I don't know what was happening to me.

But whatever it is, I don't like it.

Something surged through me like electricity.

The next thing I know, I've leapt from my seat, grabbing my things and running out the door.

My teacher shouted for me to come back.

But I didn't.

I didn't want to go anywhere, apart from the hospital.

I had to see Bella.

Right now.

**xxx**

_**A/N- I personally love that chapter, but, not going to lie, it was so hard for me to write. *wipes brow* *wipes tears***_


	3. Song For Dad

_***hides*… *shields self from haters throwing tomatoes* I'm really, really sorry for taking so long in updating, but life hit a bump in the road so I had to get that done and dusted beforehand. **_

_**A/N- Oooh Edward… you step a little too far over the line. Tut tut. **_

_***TISSUE WARNING***_

_The older I get, the more that I can see  
>How much he loved my mother and brother and me<br>And he did the best he could  
>And I only hope when I have my own family<br>That every day I see  
>A little more of my father in me.<em>

_(Song for Dad – Keith Urban)_

_**Edward.**_

Although I broke the speed limit by _at least _twenty miles per hour, as soon as I arrived at the hospital, I couldn't find it in myself to walk through the automatic doors. My words to Bella yesterday were… unforgivable. She wouldn't be expecting me to come; she probably thinks that I don't care about any of it. With that large portion of shit on my china plate, I couldn't find it in me to run inside. Rummaging around the glove compartment, I found my packet of Malboro Lights and my lighter, rolled down the window and lit up. As the nicotine flowed through my system, I managed to calm down a smidgen.

I left it down to the last possible second, when my fingers were feeling the burn from the cigarette, till I threw it through the gap in the window. Going back into my glove compartment, I found a box of Ice Breaker spearmint mints that Alice must have left in here. Meh well, her lose is my gain. Popping a mint into my mouth, I exit my car, lock it and prepare myself for what may be waiting inside.

I repeatedly ran my hands through my hair. I kept stopping in my step as part of my brain attempted to convince me in turning around and going home. But I paid more attention to the other half, which told me to stop acting like chicken shit and get my ass inside.

The hospital building welcomes you with a large gust of warm air, probably a way in saying '_get comfortable now before the fun and games begin,' _– or something along those lines. Don't know if you've realised or not, but I hate this place. It reminds me of death and pain and… _eurgh. _Like, just imagine the number of illnesses floating around this place right now. There are hundreds of patients; most of whom have a completely different illness to the rest. It just freaks me out. If dad hadn't become a doctor before I was born, I probably would have told him to reconsider. 'Cause I wasn't going to go to no fucking 'take-your-snotty-nosed-child-to-work-day'.

See if Bella doesn't appreciate this. God, I'll be mental. Takes me a-fucking-lot to get this far.

There are two ladies sitting at the reception desk. One who is a blonde who looks about the same age as me. She's filing folders into a cabinet. The other is a darker shade of blonde with the odd strand of grey squiggling through her hair. She is rather on the plump side and staring intently at the computer. The telephone rings making me jump slightly. Young Blonde stares at her partner, notices that she's still looking at a computer screen, then runs to get the phone.

"_Good afternoon, Forks Community Hospital, how may I help you?... One second please." _Young Blonde covers the mouth piece with her hand. "Patricia!" She hisses.

_Patricia _looks up at Young Blonde and looks to where she's pointing. Straight at me. Young Blonde goes back to her phone call. Patricia straightens up in her seat and starts to ask how she can help.

"I need to see Bella Swan, please. If you could tell me which room she is in?"

"I'm sorry, visiting hour starts at four. You can only go through if you're a family member."

"Excuse me, I'm the father to that child she's carrying. Does that not count for anything?"

"Sir I would like to ask you to calm your temper." My anger is rising, but I couldn't hold back my tone. Its utter bullshit that I'm not allowed through when it was _my _child in danger!

"Do you even _know _why she's here? What if she had been going into labour and it wasn't visiting hours. Would I have to back away then?"

Patricia is getting pissed.

"Sir if you do not control your voice, I will have to ask you to leave. Miss Swan has made it clear that she only wants her father in with her at the moment. If you come back at four o'clock then we can ask her then."

I stepped forward and slammed my hands down on Patricia's desk. "Fuck that! I need to see Bella, now!"

"Edward?"

_Aww shit. It's daddy dearest and he sounds as pissed as Pat._

Turning around, I shoved my hands deep into my trouser pockets and sighed angrily. "Mind explaining to me why I could hear your voice all the way down that hall?"

I thumbed behind me to point to Pat. "'Cause this bitch won't let me see Bella."

"Calm down, Edward. Refrain yourself from speaking unnecessarily at my staff and listen to what I have to say."

"'Kay." I mumbled quietly.

"Got it?"

"Yes!" Jesus effin' Christ, why do parents always do that? Double check that you understand the simple question they asked. Maybe it's just my parents that do it.

"Bella is very shaken up; she needs to rest. If you go in there now with the temper that you currently hold, she won't receive that rest. It's two o'clock now, go home, get something to eat, get dressed and you can be back here for visiting hour and I'll ask Bella if she'll allow you to go in."

I opened my mouth to say my reply, but dad is too smart for my own good – he beat me to it. "Before you start, let me say this final thing. I fully understand what you're going through –."

"No you don't."

Carlisle looked shocked by my outburst. "Excuse me?"

"You have no idea what I'm going through. You may have treated people who have been through this, but that doesn't make you a fucking expert! You've never lost a fucking child! You don't know jack shit!"

"Edward, there are times you step too far over a line that you should never cross. Because of that recent outburst, I am forbidding you to go anywhere near Bella for the time being. Your baby is perfectly fine. If there was anything wrong, I would have told you. So now, go home."

I stared at my father, wondering where the hell that came from. But after a while, I didn't have the energy to argue with him. Today has messed me about and I just wanted to go home. Shrugging my shoulders, I waved a sweet, sarcastic wave at Fat Pat and turned to leave. "Byee!" I sang cheerily on my way out.

**xxx**

"Hi…" I called out to the house, and to anyone who may be home. Mother of mine walked through from the living room, double checked the time on her watch then sighed in frustration.

"Is it too hard to stay at school all day, for one day?"

"Bella was in an accident, she had to go to hospital."

Esme's facial expression instantly changed to one of concern and worry. "Oh, my goodness. I am so sorry, is she okay? How's the baby?"

"Dad says that they're both fine, but they wouldn't let me see her! He just turned me away."

"Edward your father wouldn't just turn you away. There must have been a reason for it. So, what happened?"

"I went there, and there was this fat bitch who was all '_you're not going through, you're not family. Blah, blah, bullshit,' _then dad came over, said shit that made no sense and was like '_crossed a line' _or something '_go home. Don't see Bella,' _see? Really confusing."

"And why did he say you had crossed a line? What did you say first?"

"Er…" With one finger, I scratched the top of my head. "Just that he doesn't know what I was going through and… something else…" Thinking back now, that was a really stupid thing to say. But I was pissed, you can't blame me.

"Oh Edward, you didn't."

The hell?

Someone wanna fill me in here?

"Didn't what? What are you on about?"

Mum rubbed her face with one hand, and then made me follow her into the living room which she had just vacated. She sat me down on a leather seat and then walked over to a bookcase which holds all our baby books and photo albums. She picked a certain album, came back over and passed it to me. "Look at that." She said, then took a seat and left me to it.

I pulled open the front cover, coming across the first page that didn't hold any photos, but a piece of paper which had a saying written neatly on it.

"_No-one ever really dies, as long as they took the time to leave us with fond memories – Chris Sorensen"_

I can't describe the confusion that covered my body. Because I couldn't tell whether I was confused or not.

It's a very weird cycle.

I flipped over the page, this time finding some photos. The first four are of my mum and dad – looking really young and as in love as they are now. Seriously, when I mean young, I mean, like, my age. Dad had his arm around mum's shoulders, their heads tilted together and both smiling sweetly at whoever took the picture.

The next photo held a full body shot of both. "The hell were you wearing?" I couldn't help but laugh. Mum had been wearing trousers so high, they put Simon Cowell to shame and a puffy lilac blouse. All her hair had been tied up with them massive clip things that look like pincers. And, oh holy shit, dad looked like some guy from a cheesy sit com.

"When were these taken?"

"… Ooh… eighty-eight…?"

I continued to flick through the pages – acting like Alice when I saw an outfit they should never have worn – I was starting to wonder why she had given me this album. Then I spotted something - a photo of mum, heavily pregnant.

First I just thought it was Emmett. But each of us has our own album that starts during the pregnancy and is still going on now – we have a couple each. So why aren't his pictures in his album? Also, Emmett was born in May 1990, and mum said these were taken in 1988. This clearly is not Emmett.

I turned the page, watching the pregnancy continue, and then the photos just stopped. The rest of the pages are blank. Then I went back to the quote at the start, this baby must have died. My sibling… before Emmett was born, had died, and this is an album for them.

"Mum?" I looked up from the album, with a new chill rushing through my blood stream. Mum wiped away some tears away with the tip of a finger and patted her cheeks dry with the palms of her hands. "Could you tell me about this?"

She gathered her emotions together, took some calming breaths and readjusted the way she sat before beginning.

"When your father and I were the tender age of eighteen, I became pregnant for the first time. We had been together for a few years, he was going to soon start studying as a doctor, and everything was fine. Five, six months down the line, everything was as it should be. We had the names picked, a house we had bought together and a family that supported us to the bone. But at eight months, a tragedy struck and the baby never made it."

I've never seen my mum break down into tears like just now. It's literally the worst sight in the world. I desperately wanted to comfort her, hug her tight or whatever would do, but I couldn't move. The shock, depression and realisation that life can change in an instant kept me glued to my seat.

"I'm so sorry, mum…"

"Thank you. We're sorry that we never told you, but as parents you want to keep whatever could upset your child, well away. We still were very young when Emmett had been born, and then Alice, and then yourself, so it could be that we just didn't think. Then time went on, and we continued to keep the pain away from you all."

I kind of understand why they didn't tell us… but it would have been nice to know sooner.

"Can I ask you a few questions?" I didn't want to say anything which could trigger another round of tears.

"Of course you can."

"What were the two names that you had picked out?"

"Dale and Alice."

"And had it been a boy or a girl?"

This is the million dollar question. Did I have another brother or sister?

"A little boy. Which is why Emmett's middle name is Dale."

"And why Alice's middle name is… well, Alice."

We sat in the silence for a few minutes, taking in the information from our conversation.

I broke the silence with: "no wonder dad said what he did. I feel so bad."

"You shouldn't feel bad, Edward – you didn't know. But you must think before you say things – you never know the effect your words could have on people. Like when you're next talking to Bella – don't allow yourself to say anything degrading about either her or your child. After the trauma she has been through today, you cannot afford to add to that with some harsh words."

"Do you think she'll allow me to visit?"

"I think that if she sees how much effort you are putting in and how much you truly mean what you say, then she'll come around – she'll forgive you. But you must prove yourself first."

Oh, I will.

After the story I just heard and the day I've had, I've realised how important life is – how fragile it is.

The Edward Cullen from before has gone.

_**A/N- I didn't want to end it on any sort of cliff-hanger, just in case I disappear again like last time.**_

_**Thank you for reading. Your comments and feedback mean the world *heart***_

_**RosieRathbone xx **_


	4. Undo It

_**A/N- Happy Halloween my little Ghoulies! KimberleyCullen helped me with this chapter. Big thanks to her! XD**_

_Now you only have yourself to blame  
>For playing all those stupid games<br>You're always going to be the same  
>Oh no, you'll never change<em>

_**Undo It – Carrie Underwood.**_

_Bella._

There are only so many times you can read out-of-date magazines that the hospital provides before going mentally insane. I've read about the Kardashian family so much, I've practically become one. Shivers –my worst nightmare has come true. I have been here for eight hours (give or take) granted, I've slept for a large chunk of that time, and it was at least an hour or so talking to doctors about this mornings' fall, but the remainder of the time, reading about Kardashian make-ups, break-ups and nip-and-tucks – ooft, I would rather be at school. With Edward – who has failed to show. Fortunately nothing dreadful has happened. My baby's cocoon that it currently lives in prevented any bumps or bruises from occurring; I just have to be on bed rest for the remainder of the week, but I can deal with that. So it's not a major issue for Edward to be here, but it would have been nice to see that he cares… a little bit… even though he denies the fact.

Dr Cullen has informed me not to do any strenuous activities or get myself too worked up – I shall stick to his rules and forget about his bastard of a son (no offence) and get on with my life without any disturbance from him. I only pray to God that my child does not inherit his fathers' behaviour genes. Seriously, I could not handle that. Next time I see Dr Cullen and his wife, I should give them a pat on the back – raising a shit like that and no grey hair can be seen on their head. It's unbelievable.

Anyhow, the time on the clock ahead of me, said four-thirteen – a.k.a. visiting hour. Charlie had been with me for the majority of the morning, so he was back at work now. I just wonder if anyone is worried for me and want to come and see me… school has been let out for the day as well.

Five minutes later, I'm still wondering the same question.

Then, just as the time reached four-twenty-eight, someone tapped lightly on the glass panel on the door. I called them in and smiled instantly when Alice poked her little head around the wood. She asked if she could come in then skipped on her tip-toes with an ecstatic grin.

"How are you, my lovely? I've been so worried!" Alice carefully wrapped her arms around my neck before dragging a seat over to my bed and plonking her little ass on it.

"I'm fine – shaken up and a bit sensitive, but the baby is fine which is the most important thing."

She nodded her head as she took in my words. "I'm sorry it took me this long to get here; I had to find someone to give me a lift – Edward pissed off before lunch."

This shouldn't surprise me, but it did. Was I the reason he left? "Oh really. Do you know why?"

"He came to see you… but they turned him away." Alice looked genuinely upset for her brother. And I felt… I felt really bad. I had said that he didn't care, but he must care enough to come and see me. I just don't understand why they would turn him away when it was his child in jeopardy. He has every right to make sure I was okay if that is what he wanted.

"Why did they turn him away?"

"I asked my dad when I arrived; he said that you didn't want anyone coming to see you apart from your dad."

_What?_

"Er… I never said that. And even if I didn't want anyone to visit, I would have made an exception for Edward."

"Yeah, I thought it was weird. Especially as he told me to which room you were in."

"So… you think your dad lied and told Edward he couldn't go through even when he could?"

Alice shrugged. "Maybe, but it's not the sort of thing my dad would have done. I don't know." She shrugged again.

I couldn't seem to get the guilt and terrible feeling away from my heart. "Alice, could you tell him that I didn't say that? I don't want Edward to think that I'm butting him out, especially after making that effort."

"Yeah, of course I will."

"Thank you."

As visiting time came to an end, we said our goodbyes and Alice made a quick exit, saying something how she was going to be late for a gymnastics class.

Luckily for me, I didn't have long before Charlie came back from work and Dr Cullen announced that as long as I stuck to his rules and became the laziest person in Forks, then I could go home. I winced in pain when rising from the bed and shuffling over to the wheelchair Charlie brought through. Dr Cullen told me that after the potentially dangerous fall, I will be sore and tender for a day or two, but things will calm down and get back to normal with my week in bed.

Woo.

*Fist pump*

When I got home, I noticed that my father had been a little sweetheart. Our couch can unfold into a double bed, which Charlie had done and brought down my bed sheets etc. as well as a large supply of books that I had scattered around my room.

"I don't want you to have to deal with stairs or long walks to get anything when I'm out of the house. So I've brought your bedroom downstairs."

"Aw dad, you didn't have to."

"I would break the rules as a father if I didn't look after your every need. Just remember that for when your little one is born – you might not have to do something, but if it concerns them, then you will."

**xxx**

The evening wasn't that bad – Dad ordered in a pizza and he watched some crap on TV as I read a book. I could see Charlie falling asleep in his armchair – his head would fall forward then whip straight up in shock. It didn't take much to get Charlie upstairs, which left me with a night on my own. The TV didn't hold much interest, so that was quickly turned off along with all the lights apart from the side light that lit my book. I made up a mental deadline – finish to the end of chapter twenty-two then put the book down. I'll have you know I stuck to that deadline, and put the book away like a good girl.

Sitting with my favourite cushion under my right arm, I stared at the bulge underneath my Forks Spartans gym shirt. Even now, nearly seven months along the pregnancy, I still can't believe what it all means. That in just a couple of months, I will be a mother and someone's life will literally depend on me! It's weird to think that twenty leagues under the sea, or, to put it differently, below all those layers of skin and other shit, is a baby. A close-to-fully-formed baby. It can hear everything I'm saying right now, but will never have any memory of it.

What scares me is in a week or so, I could have this baby and it would have a fairly high chance of survival. The tiny skin cells seven months ago, have now formed into a living and breathing human being. Baby Swan has ten fingers, ten toes, two eyes and a nose. Two lungs, two feet, two hands and a heart. Blood is pumping around its body as I think. It has a brain which it will be using just as much as we use ours. I wonder if it writes a journal like Stewie did in _Family Guy._

"_Day one-seventy-one: I've sprouted another finger. Counting the one from yesterday, I'm up to eleven."_

See if my child turns out like Stewie Griffin, I might just have to show him off to the world. Just as long as he doesn't wish to kill me. And if he comes out with a head the shape of an American Football, I'll blame Edward.

**xxx**

I don't get much sleep that evening – I'm so used to the quality of my mattress, it's nothing like what I'm sitting on now. I barely take notice of Charlie waking me up, telling me goodbye and leaving for work. I'm asleep again in a matter of seconds.

Someone chapping at my door and ringing the bell continuously brings me out of whichever dream I had been living. Lifting myself off the bed, I shuffle towards the noise. Glancing at the kitchen clock on my way past - it was nearing ten o'clock.

"Who is it?" At least then, if it isn't anyone important, I won't have to use up all my energy unlocking the door, opening it, telling them to piss off, closing the door, locking it again – call me lazy, but I'm in pain, man!

"It's me. It's… its Edward." Now this is a surprise. "I came to see how you are."

I genuinely felt bad after hearing that he got turned away from seeing me yesterday. It's sweet that he came over this morning to see me. I find my set of keys in the bowl beside the door and allow Edward inside without thinking over any positives or negatives in this situation. He takes in how tired I look the scruffy clothes I'm wearing and then the hand that is supporting my back.

"Honestly Bella, how are you feeling?" I can't remember the last time he had sounded this concerned over me. It could very well be a sign that he's changing – becoming a person with more morals set for themselves and a son their parents should be proud of - a person who is slowly becoming a father. But I don't want to get my hopes up too high; some people either don't or just cannot change.

"I'm sore and tired, but I'll be as good as new in a couple days." Edward nods slowly with a sincere look on his face. "Do you want to come and sit down?"

"Thanks that would be great." Shuffling backwards, Edward slips inside and looks around my tiny house as I shut the door. This two bedroomed house is _nothing_ like his mansion which has a probable amount of ten bedrooms and then some.

"You've got a lovely place here," He comments, looking at a photo of me as a baby and smiling slightly. I couldn't get my head around his sudden transformation. Only a couple of days ago, he didn't want anything to do with me and certainly wouldn't come into my house and praise me for its looks.

"Thank you. I… erm… it's… er… would you like something to drink?"

_Brilliant Bella – great way to change the subject. No-one has ever used that before._

"Sounds great. Why don't you sit down and I'll bring the drinks through? Would you like something?"

_Yeah, seriously, someone pinch me._

_This shit just doesn't make sense!_

_Who are you and what have you done with the egotistical, I'm-so-much-better-than-everyone-else asshole that I'm used to? _

"Just… just water would be fine." Edward asks if I need any help getting back to my couch, after I tell him I'll be fine, he offers me another smile and heads to the kitchen. I listen in amusement to various cupboards being opened, drawers opening and closing and then the tap being pushed backwards instead of pulled forward and a ferocious amount of water hitting the sink and probably drenching Edward.

I'm spot on; I see that the front of his shirt is soaking wet when he passes me the mug of water.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't find any glasses." He admits sheepishly, finding a seat to sit on.

"A mug is just as good."

We take awkward sips from our mugs.

"Okay, tell me, why are you acting so differently all of a sudden?"

Leaning forward in the chair, Edward messed up his hair with his hands, took a deep breath then sat up straight again. I could tell he was anxious to speak, but after a short while, he found the strength to talk.

"I was speaking to Esme yesterday, and it made me realise how… valuable life can be… and…" Edward began to stutter and it became obvious that he was struggling to complete his sentence.

"Can I… can I quickly say something?"

"Sure, you'll probably do a better job than me."

"I wanted to ask, honestly, how did you feel when you found out I was in the hospital?"

"I'm not going to lie or sugar-coat anything. When Alice told me, I wasn't really affected…" I should be offended by that, but something made him change, so I can't put his first instincts against him. "…I didn't see why I had to go anywhere, but during the day, I couldn't help but think over the possibilities of what could happen. It scared me… I was suddenly saddened by the fact that there was a chance that I wouldn't have someone calling me daddy, and I wouldn't see their first steps, and so on and so on…"

I brushed back the tears dripping down my cheeks. Edward didn't see how his words had affected me, because he had been looking at his shoes since he first muttered a word.

"So… you realised that you do care for this baby?"

"I guess so… after talking with Esme and all the feelings that I felt yesterday, it's made sense to me. So I want to apologise Bella, for acting like an ass and for saying the things that I said. I fully understand why you didn't want me at the hospital yesterday, and I'm very grateful that you allowed me to talk to you today."

"The truth is, I never said that you couldn't go and see me yesterday, someone else said that behind my back."

"What? I bet it was that fucking fat Pat at reception. I knew she hated me."

"Edward, we don't know who it was. But it doesn't really matter. What matters is that you've realised that you do care for our baby and that is a huge step to take."

"I just hope you can accept my apology and that you'll allow me to see him or her when they're born…?"

_Aw! He looks so cute; you just want to give him a cuddle._

"I could never keep you away from your child, even if we fought like cat and dog, if you wanted a day together, I wouldn't stop that."

Edward smiled sincerely. "Thank you," he whispered.

"But we have to sick by some rules."

He looked a little scared now. "…Okay…"

"Rule number one: smoking. I'm not asking for you to quit altogether. But I don't want you to smoke around me before the birth and never around the baby when it's born. Is that okay?"

"Yeah absolutely, I wouldn't have done that anyway."

"Rule number two: language. You have quite a colourful language which they could pick up. I really wouldn't appreciate being called a dickhead by my toddler."

"Ah, really? Come on, we can be cool parents." I couldn't help by smile at his joke. "In that case," he began, "I have a rule for you."

"Okay."

"I'm going to mess up at some point – we all will – so I don't want you to shout your head off at me or make a threat to turn my balls into a pair of earrings."

"Deal. So now that we have – _ow_!"

Edward sat quickly forward in his seat. "Are you okay?"

Bringing up the front of my shirt, I poked my belly button "Wanna calm down in there? Mummy isn't a football."

"Is it kicking?"

"Yeah… _oh… _he doesn't want to stop." I looked up at Edward; his eyes were full of amazement as he stared at my belly. "Do you want to feel it?"

"Er… can I?"

"Of course! Come, sit here." I patted the space next to me and waited for Edward to move over. When he had, I grabbed his left hand and placed it just under my belly. His eyes grew wide and so did the smile on his face. We sat here, with our hands together, feeling the feet of our baby pounding against me.

**A/N – Aw, how cute. But will Edward stay this way? We'll just have to see. I'm thinking of having another 2 chapters being pregnant, and then the fun and games can begin.**

**Do you know what I'm doing tonight? Going to Katy Perry's CALIFORNIA DREAMS TOUR! Aaah! Glasgow will be wild, tonight! If you follow me on Twitter, you can see the pictures that I'll upload :D **

**Hope you liked the chapter, leave your love!  
>RosieRathbone x <strong>


	5. Hot and Cold

_**A/N- I would like to apologise for the short delay in getting this written up. I have a new job which is 5 days a week, and so it takes up a lot of my free time and I was ill. I had been half deaf for a few days – it's a really weird feeling. Enough babbling, let's get on with the show…**_

_You change your mind like a girl changes clothes  
>Yeah you PMS like a bitch I would know<br>And you always think, always speak cryptically  
>I should know that you're no good for me.<em>

'_Cause you're hot then you're cold  
>You're yes then you're no.<em>

_**Hot and Cold – Katy Perry.**_

_Bella._

"…_That has to be handed in by Thursday's lesson. No exceptions." _ Mr Banner nodded towards the class and sauntered back to the seat behind his desk. Today, a number of students hadn't managed to hand in their homework because their 'dog ate it' or they 'left it on the kitchen table' or they 'thought it was for tomorrow'. So when he says 'no exceptions', he means it. I wonder how he'll take my news…

"Er… Mr… Mr. Banner?" I elevate my hand slowly in the air. Lowering my head and biting my lip. He notices my question and allows me to speak. "I have a scan on Thursday so I won't be here for the lesson…" The whispering coming from my fellow pupils starts almost immediately. I just make out someone telling their partner that I'm using that just as an excuse so I don't have to do the homework set.

"In that case Miss. Swan, you can hand it in before you leave. But I don't want this to happen again." I nod my head, silently thanking him for his cooperation. But inside I'm thinking '_my due date is in three weeks; I won't be having another one.'_

Oh, my goodness. Three weeks and I still have so much to do! Including picking out the baby's name. Edward hinted slightly a while back that he wants to take part in that process, but he hasn't mentioned anything else about it recently. He has been really getting on my nerves recently. I mean, like, no offence to him or anything, but I would invite him to a scan and he would make up some excuse as to why he can't go. But then he would hear from Alice that we were picking out cribs and he would get all pissed at me for not informing him.

And it is because of this reason that I didn't inform Edward about my scan on Thursday. And why he cornered me at the end of the school day – scaring the crap out of me if I must say.

"When were you going to tell me about your scan?"

"How… how did you know?"

"I over-heard someone mentioning it just…" Edward sighed angrily, running his hands roughly through his hair. "…that's not the point! The point is that I know and you never wished on telling me!"

"Because whenever I have you never turn up! Why bother when I know what the answer will be."

"I could have been genuinely busy on those days."

"Oh come on, Edward – don't pull that one on me. '_I don't have any petrol; I can't drive anywhere' – _that has got to be the lamest excuse I have ever heard. You said that you were going to change and would be there for me and this baby, but so far, you have done nothing to prove that. You want to know why I didn't say anything to you. Personally, I don't want you there. Why should you get the privilege in seeing your unborn child, so close to being fully developed, when you don't seem to care? Thousands of parents have longed to be at this stage in pregnancy, but haven't made it. You don't deserve to be where they wish to be. Not if you act like this."

My words had rendered Edward speechless. At least he paid attention to what I said.

"_Bella! Come on! Let's go!" _ Alice screamed from where Jasper's car had been parked.

Edward still hadn't muttered a word. Irritated and wanting to just get out of here, I began to walk away, but a hand grabbed onto my wrist.

"Please Bella… just… listen to what I have to say…"

A car horn started breaking through the noise. Alice is getting agitated. "Edward, I have to go. But let me say this one thing. If you want to prove me wrong and act as caring and wonderful as I know you can be, then come to the Baby Shower on Saturday. Alice is holding it – it's at your house so you don't need petrol. And it is an event the father should attend. Please, do that one thing for me."

"Okay – I'll be there. And I'm sorry that I've been acting like a prick – I didn't mean to. If you find out anything at the scan, will you text me?"

I couldn't help but smile "Yeah, of course I will. I've got to go before Alice turns all 'banshee' on us, but I'll see you later?"

"See you later." We shared a rather awkward hug on departure, but it was nice.

From across the lot, a shrill voice shouted: "_you're going to go into early labour sucking face like that!"_

Alice has been watching '_Juno' _far too often.

_**Saturday**_

_**Edward.**_

I've never been good with words.

I've never been good with English full stop.

And so I could describe this day as shit – in as many words as possible – I used my best friend; the online thesaurus. Here are the results.

So, today my day has been: crap, defecation, discharge, dung, excrement, excretion, faecal matter, faeces, feculence, flux, manure, number two, stool and waste. Or – if I were to use the definition - today, my day has been an expulsion of faeces.

Oh, you want to know why? Let's start off with Bella's appointment thing the other day. I know I've been acting like a dick recently, and to be honest, I didn't want to go to the scan to see an x-ray viewing of a baby. A baby who is mine, but I don't feel deserving of it. I don't know if Bella's doctors know if I'm in the picture or not or whether they have been asking about me, but they probably don't approve of my actions either. I don't know anyone who has taken my side through all of this. My family are all rooting for Bella and running towards her slightest needs if it concerns the child. Emmett can't wait to be an uncle – he was the one person who I would have thought would join me in not wanting much to do with it, but no. And Alice, well, we all know how she feels.

I'm trying my best here. It's not easy to become a father in a few short months. Which is another reason why my day has been so utterly shit: I can't seem to make up my mind. One minute I'll be annoyed that I wasn't at the appointment and thinking things like: '_what if this is the only child you have and you didn't take part in anything'. _But then a mini devil version of me would pop onto my shoulder and fight back, saying: '_she kept you in the fucking dark for months. You've missed most of it anyway. Why bother now?' _

Then Bella is getting all up in my shit, demanding for us to sit down and think of baby names. It's not as easy as you think, you know. This child is going to be stuck with their name for the rest of their life (unless they have it legally changed, but that just shows what a shit choice it had been in the first place.) We have to make sure to pick a good name that we won't regret in the future. Like that actress women who named her daughter Apple. The fuck? When that poor child gets married, the Vicar guy will be like 'Will you, Apple Banana Pear Paltrow' – or whatever the fuck her name is. Gwyneth Paltrow has even said she doesn't like the name now. Tough luck.

So, that can't be us either. We have to pick a decent name that suits the child for the rest of its life. It has to be kind of… up to date. I don't _hate _my name, but it's pretty old fashioned – even when I was born, you don't hear a lot of 'Edward's nowadays. And 'Emmett' is even more uncommon. I would want our child's name to be unique, but not old fashioned either. Like, you wouldn't really call a girl Marjorie in this day and age – no offence to anyone with that name though.

Name choosing isn't a simple pick-the-name-out-of-a-hat decision.

It has to suit the surname as well.

That reminds me. Will the kid's surname be Cullen or Swan? It's odd, I think, deep down, I know that I would feel sad that they would be a Swan – almost like I was just a sperm donor and nothing else. But I have to put everything into consideration. What have I done to deserve my surname being taken down a generation? Yes, I'm the father and nothing is ever going to change that, but Bella is the mother and she has been outstanding through the whole thing. It's only fair that we choose her surname.

I still want Bella to think it through, so I grab my phone from beside me and start typing the first text I've ever sent her.

**will the kid be a cullen or swan **

Alice despises the way I text. She goes at me saying how I never use punctuation or capitals. But who gives a shit? It's only a text.

I half expected Bella to moan at me too – being the English geek and all – but it didn't seem like she cared.

**Hello. That is something we will have to really think about. I don't want them to take your name and then you never make an appearance – admit it, Edward, it could happen. Are you thinking of names now? **

I hate receiving really long text messages, 'cause I feel like I have to reply with the same length. But for those who text me often, they know I never go over two lines. Or add them shitty animation things. Or kisses – they're just for sappy kiss-asses.

**cool. yeh. not got anything though. **

As long as the receiver understands what I'm saying, why should it be grammatically correct?

**Ok, we can talk about it later :) you are coming to the Baby Shower later, yeah?**

Fuck sake, had I not answered that already?

**I said I was didn't I**

**Yes, but we all know your track record ;) I'm really happy you are; you don't know how much this means to me. Thanks.**

**nb. meeting jasper at 8 will it be over by then**

I didn't mean to piss her off, but her reply shows that I had.

**Seriously? It starts at 7:30. If you're only going to stay for 30mins don't even bother coming.**

**k.**

My whole house had been taken over with this Baby Shower shite. Alice had been up since seven this morning baking cookies and buns as well as decorating the place, yet she still ran on as much energy as everyone else. I gradually walked down the stairs and she zoomed past me like a fire cracker.

"_I NEED PRINTER INK!" _She screamed over and over as she ran from room to room. Emmett and Rosalie – who has joined us for the weekend – were sitting in the kitchen watching Alice sweep through the place, checking every available cupboard and drawer for printer ink.

Emmett picked up the crust of his sandwich and threw it at Alice's head. It did the job – she stopped running for a second. "Calm the fuck down, Al'." He rolled his eyes stole one of Rosalie's chips.

"Excuse me, Emmett, but _I need printer ink! Oh!" _Before we even knew what was happening, she grabbed the phone off its cradle and imputed a number quicker than I thought possible. "Mum? Hey, where are you right now? _Yay! _Can you get me some black printer ink please? It's for a game for later. Thank you!"

"Can you relax now?" I asked.

Alice shot me a look that screamed 'are you insane?' "Of course I can't, Edward! I still have so much to do and it starts in _two hours. _Gah! Why did you have to get her pregnant, then I wouldn't be in so much stress!"

I'm starting to think the same thing myself. "But, then you wouldn't be an auntie in a few weeks…"

"Okay fine! Maybe you did put your dick to some sort of use." Alice ran from the room then, we thought we were free from her rampage, but spoke too soon. She soon returned with a large cardboard box in hands. She threw it up onto one of the counters and pulled out a flimsy packet and threw it towards me. "Blow." She ordered.

"*cough* that's what he said *cough*"

Alice whipped her head round and narrowed her eyes towards Emmett who was trying his best to bite back the smirk running across his lips. "You are so immature."

I took a glance at the balloons in my hand and read the writing printed on each. "Alice? Why do these say 'It's A Girl', when we don't know the sex?"

She shoved her tiny hand into the box, rummaged around for a second, then brought out a packet identical to the one in my hand. "I have 'It's A Boy' ones too; the shop ran out of baby shower ones."

Within twenty minutes or so, I had all the balloons blown up and bouncing softly on the living room carpet. Alice allowed me to leave once I had strung up some bunting – she couldn't reach the ceiling…

I took this spare time to have a smoke (I'm desperate.) I noticed my phone flashing with a notification, but I waited to light up before checking. I had two missed calls and two text messages all from Bella. Jesus, someone was eager.

**What does 'k' mean? Okay you're going to see Jasper or okay you're going to join us?**

And the other read:

**Ring me back when you get the message please. I need to talk to you.**

Thank fuck I have some nicotine with me. I will need it for my call with Bella. Especially if she is as pissed as she sounds.

I must have been waiting for at least ten seconds before she answered. Ha! She said "Hello?" when answering. Ha! With my name on the screen, who else would it be? Ha!... ha-ha-ha!

"You wanted to talk to me?"

"Yes. I want to know what you're up to."

I inhaled, waited a second, and then blew out slowly. "Right now, I'm having a smoke on my balcony. What are you up to? Or do I not want to know? You dirty thing."

"Urgh, you're disgusting. I mean, I want to know if you're going or staying for the party."

"Haven't decided yet."

My cigarette is coming to an end. I stubbed it out on the side then flicked it over the edge.

"Right, well this if your last chance – if you don't turn up, game over. I can't cope with you letting me down all the time. If you don't turn up this evening, there is no doubt over whose surname the baby takes, I will decide their name and you can piss off and do your own thing like you wanted to."

"The hell? You're fucking with me, right?"

"No – I am being deadly serious."

"So you're giving me this shitty ultimatum – come to some party or never see my child? Pretty steep is it not?"

"No, Edward, it is not. You can let me down – I don't care and you have many a time before – but I am not allowing you to let this baby down. When he or she is older, and make plans to see you, I can't even think about the pain they will feel when you don't turn up. And I cannot risk that."

Shit. That puts things into perspective.

Again, I'm thinking positives and negatives.

"But you said yourself that you can't stop me from seeing them."

"Yes, but they will be in my care, and lawfully it will be my decision whether I allow you access or not. And after all the let downs these past few months, I will have more rights than you."

Now, I am only thinking negatives.

I am mad. Very mad.

"Well you know what, Bella? Maybe if you hadn't kept your fucking mouth shut, and told me about that fucking baby at the beginning, I wouldn't have been so dismissive!"

She can try and pull this shit on me. But I'm not weak – she can't break me.

We were both quiet for a while; Bella's voice – small and feeble – broke the silence. "Well my words still stand. It's up to you what you decide." She then hung up before allowing me to mutter a syllable.

Shit. And now I just feel awful from how hurt she sounded.

What is going on with me?

I just don't understand.

**xxx**

Bella arrived with Charlie just after quarter past seven. I had heard that Charlie didn't really want to come along, but Alice had forced him, saying that all grandparents have to attend if they can – adding that last bit in because of Bella's mother. He seemed to ease up a little bit when Carlisle started a conversation and the two got lost in whatever it was they were talking about.

No-one had come up to start a conversation with me. Especially not Bella – she hung around Alice like a bad smell. I grabbed a seat in the living room and stared glumly at the various balloons and colourful banners that decorated the place. Emmett and Rose soon joined me but they had their own conversation and never asked me on my view of the topic.

As more people arrived, the table behind the sofa I am now sitting on, slowly began to fill with parcels all different shapes and sizes. I wonder whether they wrote 'to Bella' on the gift card, or 'to Bella and Edward'.

**xxx**

"Okay everybody," Alice announced, clapping her hands excitedly. "It's time for the first game!"

_Aah sweet merciful Jesus. Please, no games._

"We're all going to get into groups of two and each group shall receive a magazine, some card, scissors and some glue. In your pair you have to choose pictures from the magazine to make a picture of what you think the baby will look like. You will have five minutes, and after those five minutes, Bella and Edward will decide on the winner!"

Alice tip-toed around the pairs, dropping off the materials needed and then joined her partner on the floor. "Ready? Go!"

I sat back in my seat and watched in amusement. Rosalie seemed to have taken over the role of cutting out the pictures – you don't trust Emmett with anything sharp. She elbowed him out the way a few times, but couldn't stop laughing at the things he said and pointed at. Bella had snatched the empty seat beside me and kept an eye on the timer as well as the group before us.

"Are you staying till the end?" She whispered just loud enough for me to hear.

"Yeah. I told Jasper I wasn't going to meet up with him."

It must have been at least thirty seconds to a minute before she replied.

"Thank you. Is it because of what I said earlier?"

I sighed, running my hands through my hair. "I dunno. I guess it was partly that. But my thoughts and emotions have been all over the place today, so I probably would have stayed anyway."

"Thank you, it means a lot. And I'm sorry for making you angry earlier – I didn't mean to."

"Bella, I was being a dick; which I am very sorry for. Shall we just forget it happened and enjoy the evening?"

When she smiled at my words, I realised something.

I like it when she smiles.

I'll have to make her smile again soon.

**xxx**

The winners of that game had been Jessica and Angela – they had actually chosen decent pictures to represent my baby. I couldn't say that for Emmett and Rosalie though, they picked Justin Bieber's head – that is an automatic fail in my eyes.

Alice allowed us to grab a refill of drinks then went straight back into the entertaining. This time, she handed the pairs a piece of paper which had been split into tree columns. One said 'Attributes', one said 'Mummy' and the other said 'Daddy'. Bellow 'Attributes' there were nine rows all with a different heading. These words were:

_Eyes_

_Ears_

_Nose_

_Legs_

_Hair_

_Smile_

_Intelligence_

_Humour_

_Other_

They had to put a cross under whose attributes they would want the baby to inherit.

I knew Emmett would ridicule me, which he did, not seconds after he heard the instructions. "Intelligence won't be hard to decide – Edward is thicker than a tree trunk." As well as: "Hair? Well unless you want the kid to be ginger, you should go for Bella."

_My hair is not ginger! It is bronze. There is a difference I have you know._

The average results looked like this.

_Mummy – _Ears, nose, legs, intelligence.

_Daddy – _Eyes, hair, smile, humour.

Nobody seemed to put 'other' done for anything – because we didn't have a clue what that meant.

The games went on for nearly an hour, and I must admit, I was really enjoying myself. The last game had to be my ultimate favourite. Everyone had a piece of paper; on it were thirteen lines from a well-known nursery rhyme with some key words missing from each. All you had to do was fill in the blanks. The room erupted into laughter as Emmett's was read out.

_1, _Mary had a little lamb, its **SHIT **was white as snow.

_2, _Baa, baa, black sheep have you any **WEED.**

_3, _Rub-a-dub-dub, three men in a tub, how do you think they **SUCKED EACH OTHER OFF.**

_4, _Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake **MAKE ME SOME FOOD.**

_**5, **_Little Jack Horner, sat in a corner, eating his **GIRLFRIEND'S **pie.

_6, _Peter Piper picked a peck of **MASSIVE TITS.**

_7, _One, two, buckle my shoe, three four **AAH SHIT WHO'S **at the door.

_8, _Peter, Peter, pumpkin-eater, had a wife but couldn't **BEAT **her.

_9, _Old Mother Hubbard went to the **STRIP CLUB.**

_10, _There was an old lady who lived in a **CONDOM.**

_11, _Jack Sprat could eat not fat, his wife could eat no **LAAARD.**

_12, _Hey diddle, diddle, the **WILLY **and the fiddle.

_13, _Rock-a-bye baby, on the **JERRY SPRINGER SHOW. SORRY MATE, YOUR PARENTS ARE CRACK-HEADS.**

**xxx**

As the party came to an end, we opened the presents and thanked everyone for their generosity and for taking part in the event. We received some lovely things from them all. Including: some unisex onesies, socks, hats, diapers, bottles and bottle brushes, a baby bouncer, and a t-shirt from Emmett which read "_Sorry, I can't change my father." _I think he meant it as a joke… but you never can be too sure.

Before Charlie could whisk her away, Bella came over to talk to me.

"I… I was wondering when you wanted to discuss names."

This Baby Shower had won me over – I am now quite excited for the baby to be born.

"I could… er… come over tomorrow? Say, one o'clock?"

For the second time that evening, I had said something which made Bella smile.

"Brilliant. I'll see you then."

We exchanged another semi-awkward hug and parted ways.

I just hope I'm not going to change emotions again.

I like how I feel right now.

Like I finally belong in this tiny family we have started.

**xxx**

**A/N—Rosie is going to go and die now. Writing that last bit at 2am is not a smart idea. **

**I cannot tell you how excited I am for the next couple chapters. So I really hope I have the time to write them soon.**

**I hoped you liked that and laughed at some parts. **

**Review?**

**RosieRathbone**

**xx**


	6. Tonight I Wanna Cry

***IMPORTANT!* **_**There is one part in this chapter, I'm not going to tell you which one, but it is a real event and happened to someone in real life – You'll figure it out when you get to it. **_

_I've never been the kind to let my feelings show  
>And I thought that bein' strong meant never losin' your self-control<br>But I'm just drunk enough to let go of my pain  
>To Hell with my pride, let it fall like rain<br>From my eyes, tonight I wanna cry_

**Tonight I Wanna Cry – Keith Urban**

**Bella.**

_Vvv… Vvv… Vvvv…_

Nooo… leave me alone, Aliiiice…

Only Alice would ring you at the crack of dawn – doesn't even consider whether you are awake or not.

_Vvv…Vvv…Vvvv…_

She is a consistent little bitch.

_Ding-a-ling!_

I moaned as I stretched my arm over my large belly and reached to the night stand to grab my phone. I could check her text messages; I just need to read the thing then get back to sleep – not suffer half an hour of chat. Also, if she is ringing urgently, she would probably say so in the message.

_**Isabella, I know you are awake. And I know you won't turn your phone off – Charlie told me his new rule for you – thank him for me ;) **_

Argh Dad, see you – blabbering off to Alice about your new protection. As soon as I became so far along my pregnancy, I practically became disabled; he made me sleep with my phone on and on loud. Because if I'm in danger for some reason, I won't have the time to wait for it to turn on etc. and it needs to be on loud just so that I can hear it when someone contacts me.

But not right now! And now that Alice knows about it, I don't have the excuse that I didn't have my phone turned on. And I'm such a light sleeper right now, that she knows it would wake me up.

_Ding-a-ling!_

Oh for sweet Jesus sakes.

_**You know I'm just going to keep ringing and texting if you don't answer…**_

_Ding-a-ling!_

_**Heheh XD I love you really, Bell. But for reals, answer yo phone, bitch! I needs to talk to you, like, yesterday!**_

It started to vibrate in my hands as I read the message.

Alright! Alright! I'm up!

"What?"

"Oooh!" Her peppy voice filled my ear – not the way you want to wake up. "Who's stolen your cookie?"

"Um… you. What is it that you needed to tell me?"

"Oh! Yes! I nearly forgot!"

Yeah, of course you did Al'.

"Guess what Edward is doing, right now."

"To be honest, I don't really care."

"Aw come on, Bells! You need to lighten up a bit. Soon, you'll be waking at all hours in the morning and you have to bite back that scream. So use now to practise. Anyway, Edward is sitting at his desk…"

"Oh, my God. Sitting at his desk? What a rebel."

"Shut up, Bella. He is sitting at his desk with two pieces of paper; one side says 'boys' the other says 'girls'. He's been thinking of baby names for ages! How cute is that? Yes, I admit he woke up quite late…"

"Quite late? Dude, it's barely seven in the morning."

"I've been up for nearly an hour. And that was with a lie-in!"

I wouldn't even doubt that she has.

"Anyway, I wouldn't be surprised if he is over at your house before one o'clock."

I yawned and adjusted the way I lay in bed; becoming a little more awake with every second. "Well I haven't got any plans for today, so you can tell him that he can come over any time after ten."

"Okay! I've got to run – I'm going to Jaspers' at nine and I'm barely ready!"

"Oh no. Two hours? I feel your pain, love."

"Shut up, you sarcastic little shit!"

I threw my head back and laughed loudly. "I'll let you go. See you later?"

"Of course. Byee!"

Calculating the time, I turned over and went back to sleep for another hour.

**xxx**

Edward arrived at exactly half-past eleven. Alice is right, he looked way to chipper for a Sunday morning and way too chipper for Edward in general. He did indeed have that piece of paper with him – rolled up and placed under his arm. Because of the freezing temperatures outside, he had a dark blue beanie covering his hair, apart from a flicky fringe that stuck out the front, a black jacket zipped all the way up and a black scarf tied around his neck and tucked inside the jTeaacket.

I'm not going to lie, he looked adorable as hell.

I took the paper from him, so that he could take off his extra layers, and waddled through to put it on the kitchen table. "Would you like a hot drink?" I called through, peering around the wall to watch Edward stamp out the snow that lined his boots. He toed them off, stuck them beside my welly boots and hung his jacket and scarf on an empty peg on the coat rack.

"Some tea would be amazing, thank you."

Walking to the tea and coffee cupboard, I reached onto tip-toes and checked out my supplies. "Right… I have cranberry, raspberry and elderflower or pink grapefruit, mandarin and lime."

Edward chuckled lightly behind me. "I guess normal tea doesn't happen in this house?"

I turned my head around to smirk at him, "normal tea? Who does that shit? And this stuff is imported from the UK, so you should be happy that I'm allowing you to have some."

You cannot beat a good cup of Twinings tea.

"In that case, I'll have a cup of the grapefruit one."

"Pink grapefruit, mandarin and lime? Got it." I flicked the kettle on, and we both stood in silence, listening to the water slowly boil away. To busy myself, I grabbed two mugs and two teabag packets. Tearing the paper of the packet, I dangled the teabag by the string and dropped one into each mug. I had that familiar sensation filling my stomach, so with that, I went to the cupboard to my right and went on a hunt for some chocolate or something sweet.

"Care for a Kit Kat?"

"Ooh, please!" You could just tell that Edward's eyes lit up when the Kit Kats were mentioned. I passed him over two packets and said that he could go and sit in the living room and that I would be through in a second. He took his rolled up paper as he left.

The kettle clicked off shortly after I took a spoon from the drawer and had it sitting between the mugs. When I went back through to join Edward, I noticed something missing from the chair I usually sat in. "Aw bollocks, I left my pillow upstairs." Sitting the mugs on two separate coasters, I mentioned that I would be two minutes and went to go upstairs.

"I can get if for you if you want? Saves you trekking up those stairs."

"Would you mind?" It's not that I didn't want to be an inconvenience, but more that after bending becoming a trouble I haven't really kept my room as tidy as it should be – it's quite embarrassing to be honest.

"No, of course not. What does it look like?"

"It is cream coloured and an odd 'U' shape; it's a pregnancy pillow to give me comfort when sitting up and sleeping etc."

"Right, be right back."

"Thank you!" I called as he half walked, half ran up the stairs. "It should be just on my bed and my room is first door on the left!"

_If there is a God up there, please, don't let there be any dirty underwear lying about…_

I have mentioned this before, but I'm going to say it again: I really love this kind of Edward. It's weird to think that the same person who, today, has been nothing but gracious and polite, had been a complete ass yesterday and for a few weeks prior. I just hope he stays this way once the baby is born.

Edward returned ten times quicker than I would have done – I would have still been walking up there. He passed it over and even offered to help me adjust it. My God, I'm seriously confused with this new Edward that has arrived. After some twists and sitting-ups, I had it nestled around me, just to offer my back some support when I sat down.

Right, time to get down to business.

"I've had an idea…" Edward begun, slowly unrolling the paper that had been squashed between his knees. "I found out only a few short weeks back, that I was meant to have another brother, older than Emmett, but unfortunately he never made it to this world—

Oh, my goodness. That is so sad! I can't even begin to think what Esme and Carlisle must have gone through. Well, I kind of have a small understanding because I'm a mother (to be) myself, but it will have been worse than anyone could describe. Why is the world such a cruel place sometimes?

"—and I heard that his name was going to be Dale, so I was wondering whether it would be okay to make that the middle name if the baby is a boy?"

Aw, that is so cute. What a lovely thing to do in memory of his brother.

"Oh, my goodness, I am so sorry. Absolutely – I have no objections whatsoever."

"Emmett's middle name is Dale, but I think it would fit nicely – their first son… my first son…"

_Aaaaw! I actually think I am about to cry._

_Wait, no, not think. I have definite tears in my eyes right now._

Hearing Edward say '_my first son' _and the first time I've properly heard him mark the baby as his is so heart-warming. I have never felt so happy hearing somebody say three simple words.

"That is a lovely name – I hadn't even thought of middle names, so at least we only need to think of one for a girl now."

**xxx**

I can now see why people opt for the baby name books – this is hard! It's been an hour since we started saying the first name that popped into our heads, but still nothing has stuck. I've even gone through a list of celebrity names because I've run out of anything else.

"Katy? Spelt either 'ty' or 'tie'?" Edward looked around the room slowly and chewed on one of his nails in thought.

"Yeah… I like that one."

I sighed loudly and ran my hand through my long hair. "That has been the answer for all of them."

"Hey! I didn't say I liked 'Beyonce' or 'Madonna'."

"But would we have seriously called our daughter one of those names? No, I don't think so."

"What about…" Edward stared down at his lap, and then looked up to meet my gaze, "Indie?"

"Mmm, I don't know – it doesn't seem to click."

We were like this for another twenty or so minutes, munching our way through another two Kit Kats each and another cup of tea. Why is naming a baby so hard?

"Right, I have a plan." Edward suddenly announced. "Why don't you think of a book or a series of books and go through the characters from them?"

"That might work…" I mused, "why don't you say a book you've read and the chances are that I've read them too, at least then we're in the same boat."

"Um…" Edward played with his hands awkwardly. "I've only read one series…"

Seriously? But, reading is the best thing ever invented! To each their own I guess.

"And which serious had that been?"

"Harry Potter…" He sounded so embarrassed when he spoke.

"Hey! Harry Potter is the reason some people started reading. It is a fantastic series and you should feel proud that you experienced the fantastic writing Rowling introduced to us."

"But could you pick a name from the characters in that?"

Probably not… but it's worth a try. "Well, we have Harry, Ron, Hermione, Lily, James…"

"Tom. So, we're practically naming our son Voldemort, but no-one else needs to know that."

"Exactly! Er… Fred or George!"

Edward laughed quietly. "I can't believe we're genuinely considering Harry Potter names. Hell, we should just add Dumbledore to the list of options."

"Or Bellatrix."

"At least she would be named after her mother."

I shot Edward a faux evil smile. "Why thank you."

"It's alright. What about… Luna."

"Or Ginny," I don't know whether we were taking this seriously anymore, or just saying the first Harry Potter name that we came too.

"Cedric. Actually, he died, so it could be a cursed name." I think Edward is taking it seriously…

"Oh, my God, we should name our son Hagrid!"

"Bella, come on, take this seriously."

"I am!" Edward gave me a knowing look. "Alright fine, maybe I wasn't then. Fine… how about… Draco."

"Bella…"

"No genuinely. Think about it… Draco Dale Cullen…" We both thought for a minute then smiled at each other. "It's quite good, eh?"

"It certainly works well with Dale, and it does have a ring to it funnily enough. I bet you won't find many boys with that name either, so it will be unique in its own special way."

I couldn't keep the smiles off my face and my feet kept bouncing. "Have we decided then? If it's a boy we are to name him Draco Dale?"

Edward thought long and hard, he continuously ran his hands over his head and rubbing his neck. "I don't want to regret the name we choose, but I don't think we would. I truly believe that Draco is a name that we should call our son."

And again with the sweet words and tears…

"And if it is a girl? I really like the name Lily."

"Hmm… what is your middle name?"

"Marie."

"Little Lily Marie Cullen…"

I covered my face with my hands, smiling wildly, but no-one could see. My grandmother had been called Marie, and if my daughter takes that name too, Marie will have been brought through generations and generations.

"Draco Dale and Lily Marie. Have we made our decision?"

"I think we have."

**2 weeks later.**

**Edward.**

"Gavilaaa!" Emmett cried as I entered the house.

"Smithstaaa!" I replied. We met each other by the front door and began doing a few robot moves to finish off our introduction.

"Oh dear God, you two have watched _far _too much 'Gavin and Stacey' recently, it's not even a joke anymore."

"You regret showing it to us now, don't you Alice?"

"Yup."

A few days ago, Alice made us sit down and watch a British TV show she had been watching online. At first, we didn't see the attraction, but now, we can't seem to get enough of it. We even went onto Amazon and ordered the DVD's. That is how obsessed we have become recently. Emmett has even attempted the Welsh accent, but it sounded like a mix between Indian and American.

"I have the new Call of Duty game, fancy a go or two?" Emmett thumbed towards the games room.

"I need to take a shit, but I will join you when the tanks are clear."

"_Eew! _Why are guys so disgusting?" Alice walked back through from the kitchen with some toast in her hand. She grimaced down at her snack. "Thanks Edward, you've really put me off my toast now."

Emmett's eyes widened at the sign of free food. "Well if you're not going to have it…" He tried to leap forward and swipe it from her hand but Alice moved away just in time.

"Ooh no. If you want something to eat go and make it yourself, you lazy ass."

Emmett sulked off to the games room. "_No-one cares about me!" _He pretended to sob and cry as he walked.

I love it when he's home; the pranks we pull on Alice are legendary. It has been the same since we were little, and I doubt it will end any time soon.

The phone started to ring as I made my way to the bathroom, I heard Alice shout that she will get it. It must have been, like, ten seconds into her phone call when Alice shrieked and screamed my name. "_Edward! _You need to get to the hospital, _now! _Bella's waters have broken!"

"What? It's not due for another four days!"

"Who cares? The baby is coming now! _Go!" _

My mind seemed to go into over-drive. I ran down the stairs, missing a stair as I leaped down them, grabbed my jacket and keys from where I had dumped them and flew out the house. I unlocked my car as I ran across the gravel and waited until I started to drive till I strapped in. The only thing on my mind right now is Bella and our baby and that I had to get there as soon as possible. We probably have hours before the delivery process properly starts, but I didn't want to waste a second.

I knew dad was at work at the moment, so he must have rung when Bella arrived at the hospital. I felt a little annoyed that she didn't inform me before she went there, but I'm starting to realise that she would have been as stressed as I am now – if not even more – so I'll let her off.

Unfortunately, it was that terrible time of day when everyone is trying to head home from work and so the traffic leading back into Forks and en route to the hospital was ridiculous. I wish I had some sort of siren so I could blare it and inform all of those around me that I was in a rush. But I knew that wouldn't and couldn't happen, so I just had to sit tightly and wait my turn…

**xxx**

"Bella? Are you okay?" She is lying on her side and cradling her arms around her stomach.

She shook her head slightly and winced, her toes tensed at the pain. "No. It hurts… Edward, I can't do this."

I pulled a chair up to the side of the bed and placed a gentle hand on her forehead. "Yes, yes you can Bella. Just think, soon all of this will be over with and you'll have a tiny baby in your arms…"

I had hoped that my words would calm her, but it seemed as though she didn't even take them in. "Your hands are really cold… it's nice." With that being said, I pressed my palm over her cheek and forehead in turn, doing my best to soothe her.

As the contractions grew closer and closer, and more unbearable, I would swap sides and rub her back whilst whispering comforting words.

With time, family and friends came to see how we were getting on and brought us some drinks to keep us hydrated and to top up our energy levels.

Surprisingly enough, Bella kept us laughing - saying that she was worried to go to the toilet in case she gave birth whilst doing a pee.

"That would be one large shit…" Emmett muttered, but we all heard him.

It was closing in on eleven at night. We had made everyone else go home and get some sleep and we promised to ring the second the baby was born. I don't think most of them wanted to be witnessing the birth anyway. I heard it's not the prettiest of things to watch.

It wasn't long after one in the morning when nurses announced that Bella should start to push. She squeezed my hand tight with excitement and also with fear of what she was about to do. But we still had smiles on our faces.

"Okay Bella… when your next contraction hits…" Before I knew it, Bella's face scrunched up and turned beat red as she pushed as hard as she could.

"That's it, you can do it," the words left me without even thinking through them first. "I'm here, Bella. You're doing so well."

The nurses allowed her to rest for a quick second to regain some energy and have a breather. Bella closed her eyes and breathed deeply in and out. Her hair is all sweaty and clinging together on the top of her head, but it didn't stop me from rubbing my hand down it.

"Okay, are you ready to try again?"

"Hang on… one second." After some more deep breaths, Bella announced that she was ready to push again and we all went back to our positions.

"One… two… three and four…" I listened to the nurses counting her push and watched Bella lie back as far as she could.

And then, all of a sudden, her tensed face relaxed in a split second.

I thought she had done it and the room would have been filled with a high-pitched cry.

But I was wrong.

The only thing filling the room was the concerned voices of the nurses.

"Bella…?"

_What the fuck is going on?_

"BP is dropping…"

_What the hell does that mean?_

_Somebody tell me!_

"Bella… come on, stop playing around!" I didn't realised I had screamed that before a nurse touched my shoulders and asked me to stand out of the way. "No! What's happening? What is going on?"

"Please, you need to stand back so the doctor can get through."

"Doctor? What… what's happening? _Tell me!"_

"Her blood pressure is dropping rapidly, but that is no reason to get upset."

"How can you say that? _How can you say that?" _I rubbed my hands roughly down my face and stared in shock as I felt that my eyes were damp. I was crying. For the first time in fucking months, I'm crying.

"And… and what about the baby?"

"Unfortunately, if the mother's blood pressure is at risk, the baby's is also."

_No…_

_Please, this can't be happening to me. _

_Somebody has to do something!_

The nurse that took me away from Bella had sat me down on a seat. I couldn't do anything but stare as they rushed around, speaking medical speak, they all sounded as worried as each other.

_You can't do this to me, Bella. You just can't!_

_What if Draco or Lily survives and you don't?_

_How am I going to cope?_

_You can't leave me!_

_Please…_

_I can't do this without you._

As I sobbed into my hands, I heard words that chilled my blood.

"Crashing…"

I knew as soon as that word had been spoken, that my life had ended.

My little family has gone…


	7. Total Eclipse of the Heart

**A/N- **_**Woah, quick update here! WARNING: Edward's use of the f-word gets a little out of hand in this chapter, but, what can I say? Shit is getting emotional…**_

_Turnaround, every now and then I get a__  
><em>_little bit lonely and you're never coming around__  
><em>_Turnaround, Every now and then I get a__  
><em>_little bit tired of listening to the sound of my tears__  
><em>_Turnaround, Every now and then I get a__  
><em>_little bit nervous that the best of all the years have gone by_

_**Total Eclipse of the Heart – Bonnie Tyler**_

_**Edward**_

__Everything fucking hurt.

I can't remember the last time I cried, and I now I can't seem to fucking stop! My eyes stung with the acid from my tears, my fingers tips hurt from the constant nail-biting I had been doing, my head hurt from stress, fear, and a thousand and one emotions I've never felt before. And, most importantly, my heart and every single cell hurt. I'm not even exaggerating – if you lose someone you love or care for with your every being, you whole body hurts with a pain almost like cramp.

I don't love Bella, that isn't what I am saying, but I care for her a lot and I certainly love my child – that will never change whether they make it or not, my feelings will never differ.

I'm such a freaking idiot. Why? Why did it take me this long to realise my feelings for my baby? Why didn't I help buy things for it? Why didn't I do the man's role and paint the nursery? Why didn't I do a fucking thing except sit on my ass and moan about how shit my life is? I have wasted the last few months and I can never retrieve them. If my biggest fear comes true, I honestly don't know what I will do.

Oh, my God.

I feel sick. Or I'm going to pass out. Or both.

I feel light-headed, the room is spinning and everything is blurry.

It's almost like that time Jasper and I smoked some weed and I felt like Alice in fucking Wonderland with the Cheshire Cat grinning and spinning around my head. _Eurgh, _I think… I think I need to lie down for a second…

"_Edward…? Son?"_

"_Oh, Carlisle, what's happened to him?"_

"_It's okay, Esme; he's just passed out."_

"_Daddy…"_

"_Don't cry, Alice. Look, his eyes are fluttering – he'll come 'round in a second."_

The hell is going on? Everything is black and I can hear voices 'round about me. Can I read minds? Are these peoples' thoughts that I'm hearing? As the voices grew louder and when I could distinguish them better, I realised they belonged to my family. Why is dad talking about my eyes fluttering? Eurgh, and why does my head hurt so much? I'm so confused. I could feel my head lolling from side to side, but I couldn't seem to stop it. These motions were making me feel really sick and queasy.

All of a sudden, my eyes slowly opened and the ceiling light practically burned through my retinas. My family sighed with relief, but I was more interested in where I was. Seriously, my mind has gone blank.

"Edward, can you tell me where you are?"

I couldn't find the words to answer dad's question, so I just shook my head slowly.

Mum gasped, "Why can't he remember? Did he hit his head? Has he got memory loss? Amnesia? Does he know who I am? Does—"

"—Esme calm down. I'm pretty sure the shock of everything that has happened caused Edward to pass out and he just has to collect his bearings. Edward? You're at the hospital, do you remember that?"

Then it was as if someone flicked a switch in my head and everything came flooding back to me.

_Bella…_

Shit!

I jumped up from where I had been lying – the sudden quickness of my action made me stagger a little. I stared around the room, certain that this had been the room I have been in all along (unless someone moved me) but I'm positive it is the same room. _Look! That was Bella's drink! See!_

"Bella…" I stood at where the bed should have been. "Where have you gone?" In the time that I had been out cold, they've moved her from the room. Why didn't anybody tell me?

I spun around to face my father. "Where's Bella? Where have they taken her?" I coughed on a sob that rippled through my chest. Please… please don't say they've taken her to a morgue…

_I haven't said goodbye…_

The pressure became too much, I fell to my knees, slamming my hands onto the floor and allowed the sobs to rise free and cried loudly. My back hunched as my sobs became even louder still. A gentle hand touched my back and helped my sit back in a more comfortable position. Dad is kneeling before me, making sure I'm okay before starting to talk.

"They took her to the operating room about five minutes ago."

What? Oper – wait, what? "Operating room? Why?"

"They are going to perform an emergency caesarean, with hope that the baby can still survive."

That should bring me some joy, a little bit of hope, a bright light. But it didn't. He wasn't saying that my baby will be a-okay and I don't have to worry. He said 'with hope' – there is still a high chance that my little Draco or Lily won't make it. And what about Bella? She never said she could still make it. Is that his way of letting me down gently? She's already gone; there is no way in bringing her back, and saying that is the easiest way?

"Dad… tell me, please, what are the chances of them both making a full recovery?"

I knew he wouldn't sugar-coat anything now that I've asked the absolute truth. "I'm not going to lie to you, Edward," he sighed lightly whilst gathering together his words, "both are in a critical condition. Because Bella went into a cardiac arrest, then that causes a lot of problems for the baby as well. But don't think negatively – miracles can happen, Edward."

_Yeah, I'll need a fucking big one, doc._

_**xxx**_

One hour.

_One _hour.

_ONE FUCKING HOUR!_

They sure know how to keep people on their toes in this place.

We've been moved to a private waiting room. Everyone was here – Carlisle, Esme, Alice, Emmett and Chief Swan. I somehow found the decency to apologise for being so selfish and told him that he must be in even more of a state than me. And do you know what he did? He put on hand on my shoulder, smiled sadly and said: "_You have no reason to apologise. You're young, and I know that in situations like these you tend to think about nobody else except the person in danger. We both have our babies in there; I know how it feels to be afraid."_

I don't think anyone really knew what to say after that. I think the last time he spoke to me, he had called me a 'restless punk' (and that was only a couple weeks ago) so going from that to this, is a scary leap.

But now it has been an hour since Bella went to that operation room and we haven't heard a thing.

I began to pace the room. "Why have we not heard anything? What is taking them so long?"

"They will come through when it is appropriate." Dad said, motioning the seat I had just stood from with his hand. "Come and sit down."

"Fuck sitting down! I want some answers!"

"Calm down, Edward. We will get answers when they are ready to give some to us."

"But it's obvious something is wrong, so why don't they just tell us? Come on, pops, it doesn't take a fucking hour to perform a C-section, so why have they not said anything?"

"All in good time."

_**xxx**_

Approximately twenty minutes later, a knock was heard at the door and a nurse stepped into the room. "Edward Cullen?"

I jumped up almost as if Emmett had shoved a fire cracker in my ass. "Yes?"

"We are delighted to tell you the caesarean has been a success and that you have a healthy baby boy."

A collection of gasps all rose at once from around me. I looked at everyone in the room and they all had the same expression. Our smiles wavered, it didn't go unnoticed that the nurse never said anything about Bella.

Although my heart tore at the chest, thinking that I now had a purpose and something that Bella would have wanted, calmed me ever so slightly. I promise her, right now, that I will be there for Draco through every step of his childhood and thereafter. I promise to be the best father I can be and I promise to raise him right, to teach him the rights and wrongs, to get him a brilliant education and, most of all, I promise to tell him and to make sure that he knows just how amazing his mother had been, and that she loves him very much and always will.

Draco will be loved and cherished and never will he doubt that.

"And what about Bella?" Emmett asked the question we were all pondering.

"She is still with the doctors at the moment." That is a very guarded question, she isn't giving away an answer that is set in stone, she just said she's with doctors. The nurse looked back at me. "Would you like to see your son?"

What the fuck am I still doing here?

_Let's go!_

"Lead the way."

_**xxx**_

All babies look the same. I thought we would walk into the nursery and I would be able to spot Draco immediately, but I have been proven wrong. If it wasn't for the fact that each crib had the baby's identification on it, then you could quite easily walk off with the wrong child. The nurse led me through a maze of cribs – I looked at each baby as I walked past them and smiled at their innocence. She came to a halt towards the end of the back row and stepped to the side whilst using her hand to tell me which one is my son.

My breathing caught in my throat as I peered over and had the first glimpse of my future. He had been wrapped up in a light blue blanket and looked as peaceful as can be as he slept. Draco had a light layer of brown hair smoothed out of the top of his head, a tiny button nose and little pink lips that kept pursing and straightening slightly. I couldn't pick out any of my obvious features (or Bella's for that matter) but they will form in time. I hadn't seen anything more beautiful in my life.

_Oh, Bella. Look what we made… you would have been so proud…_

_I know I am._

Draco hadn't been planned, but he will never be seen as a mistake. Something this beautiful couldn't possibly be a mistake. Just looking at him I had this overwhelming rush of love and protection. Apart from my family, I've never loved anybody else, but this love that I feel for my son is something I can't even find the words to describe. You hear parents say '_I would do anything for them' _but it is so much more than that. It scares me; his life is now in my hands. If he does anything wrong as he grows older, I know I will feel the blame.

Hesitantly looking away from Draco, I peer at the nurse who couldn't fight the smile on her face. "He's… he's fine and healthy? There will be no complications now?"

"Due to the situation in which he was born in, we are quite surprised that he fought through it. I think you will have a tough little kid in your care. But to answer your question, no – there are no complications or any sort of problems which we should be worried about."

I desperately wanted to ask what she meant by that, it sound as if he will face some hiccups. But I knew the answer already, we all catch illnesses – it's just a way of life – and obviously babies will be more susceptible due to their size. So I kept my mouth shut.

"Thank you."

"It is our pleasure. Bella had a little surprise for you for when he was born…" my brow furrowed as the nurse stepped towards Draco and began to loosen the blanket from around him. "She had brought in a baby grow and asked for us to dress him in this as a surprise for you."

Again, my breathing caught. My eyes welled up with tears as the blanket was brought away and I was left looking at what Draco was wearing. A white baby grow with the words '_I Love My Daddy' _written on the front. Each letter was a different piece of coloured patchwork and it all fit neatly around his chest and tummy.

_Bella thank you._

_I miss you._

_Come back to me, baby._

"Would you like to hold him?"

"I… er… I…"

"You're scared, I know. Don't worry; I'll help you hold him properly."

"But what if I drop him?"

She laughed lightly, "You won't drop him. Your parental instincts will kick in and wouldn't allow you to drop him."

She reached over and gently brought Draco out. He started to cry softly from being disturbed. That sound is so beautiful, yet painful at the same time.

"Now, decide which side you would like to hold him on," I waved my left hand, "okay, and it's very important to support his head – he isn't strong enough to support it himself yet. Rest his head in the crook of your arm," I bent my arm slightly and she put Draco's head just where it needed to be. "Now this arm will wrap around and sit on his legs, and the other hand will support his bottom." I followed her directions and when she took a step back, I noticed how I was holding him all on my own. He was still whimpering a little bit, so I bounced my arms ever so slightly to calm him down.

"This position is perfect for his spine and the way that his head is sitting, allows him to move it around and to look at his surroundings. I know it feels weird the first time you do it, but before you know it, you will be picking him up and holding him safely without even realising."

"And what if I want to touch his face or something? Which hand would I use for that?"

"You would use the one that's under his bottom. But right now, I would suggest that you sit down so your knees can add to his protection, just whilst you get used to it."

"Would it be okay if you brought my family over to see him?"

I knew they would all be itching to see him – Alice in particular.

"Absolutely. Will you be okay by yourself whilst I'm gone?"

"I should be fine, thank you."

Once she had gone, I took her advice in sitting down, so I found a spare seat at the end of the row I'm standing in and made myself comfortable before using the tip of a finger to stroke Draco's delicate features. His eyes opened, probably from my touching his face, and he just stared at me with large dark eyes.

"Hello Draco," I cooed, "I am your daddy, and I love you very, very much. I know you don't understand a word I'm saying right now, but believe me, you'll hear these words a lot and you'll know what they mean in time. I'm not going to allow you to turn out like I did; you will be well mannered, you won't drink a sip of alcohol until you're twenty-one, and if I hear you mutter a certain word that begins with 'f' and rhymes with 'duck', you'll be in big trouble."

I wonder what this sounded like to him. I know he can hear me, but he doesn't understand a word I'm saying. It's probably like when you hear foreign people talking to one another and you don't know what they're saying because you don't speak that language.

Maybe…

"You have a large family that loves you. Yeah, we're crazy, but which families aren't? And if anybody picks on you at school, you tell them that your dad and Uncle Emmett will happily beat them up for you. Got it? And if the worst happens, and Be–mummy doesn't make it… don't be upset. I can learn to be both parents, and she will still love you just as much as I do…"

Someone knocked on the viewing glass which interrupted my little speech. I glanced over to see the whole gang watching me in awe. Esme had her hands up to her face – she's probably crying. And Alice gripped on tight to Carlisle's arm, to stop her from bouncing around with excitement. I rose from my seat, making sure Draco was safe in my arms before walking back through the maze of cribs and out to the corridor.

"I would like to introduce to you all, Draco Dale Cullen." Esme and Carlisle shared a gasp at my decision on the middle name and looked at each other lovingly.

"Draco? As in Draco Malfoy? Arch enemy of Harry Potter and hot-shot Tom Felton?"

"Actually Alice, Voldemort is arch enemy."

"Shut up, Emmett, you know what I mean."

I butted into their argument before it got out of hand. "Yes Alice, as in Draco Malfoy. Bella chose it and I think it fits perfectly."

"It's a lovely name, sweetie. And such a beautiful little boy, you must be so proud."

"I am."

For the next ten minutes, we passed him around, kissing his forehead and introducing ourselves. Emmett promised Draco that he will be his Call of Duty partner and that he will teach him how to play strip poker. (I put a stop to that last one) And Alice couldn't have been more excited when she burst out with giddiness, saying how he'll be a little heart breaker and that he'll be the most stylish kid in school. I wouldn't put it past her.

A nurse apologised for breaking up our family bonds but asked if she could speak to me for a second. My body filled with fear. She said she had to take me somewhere and after making sure Draco was safe in my mothers' arms, I followed her.

"Where are we going?" I asked for the tenth time since we started walking.

"Just up here," she replied.

Come on, woman. Just fucking tell me.

We finally came to a room and she walked inside, holding the door so I could follow her.

I nearly asked her again what the hell we were doing here, but then I noticed why.

Bella.

She sat in bed with an odd expression on her face. It almost looked like she was guilty of something.

It took me no time at all to run over and pull her into the biggest hug I could manage.

"Oh, my God. Oh, my God, Bella I was so worried. I thought I had lost you."

We were both crying, but mostly with happiness. "I… I'm so sorry, Edward."

"What the hell are you apologising for?"

She rubbed her eyes with the corner of a blanket, "I made everybody so worried, and I'm sorry."

I pushed the strands of hair away from her face and kissed her forehead sweetly. "Don't apologise. Just promise me that you'll never do that to me again. I don't know what I would have done had I lost you, and I don't know what Draco would have done either."

Bella's eyes widened. "Draco? A boy? How is he? Have you seen him?"

"I have, and he's perfect. He's so beautiful, Bella you'll be so proud of him."

As was I.

So proud and so thankful.

Everything could have gone tits up this evening, but for some reason, it all came back my way.

To be honest, I don't want to know what happened.

All I care about is my family.

My new family.

_**xxx**_

**A/N- **_**Do you think I would have killed them both off? Hell, the story is only just starting! What do you think of Draco? I've known what his name was going to be for weeks, and I'm so excited to finally write it… DRACO, DRACO, DRACO! **_


	8. Father and Son

**A/N- **_**Some of you don't seem to care much for the name Draco, and I'm sorry that you feel that way – I hope you're still reading this! – but trust me, as he grows up, you'll see how perfect the name actually is. That is all I'm saying. And if Stephanie can call their daughter Renesmee, why can't I call their son Draco? **_

_It's not time to make a change,  
>Just sit down, take it slowly,<br>You're still young, that's your fault,  
>There's so much you have to go through<em>

_**Father and Son – Cat Stevens.**_

_**Bella**_

_**2 weeks later.**_

The wind howled and the rain crashed against my window with an almighty force. The past few days have been pure hell. I can't tell you the exact number of hours sleep that I've had, but It can't be more than ten. Sunday night, I thought I had it in the bag. During the day Draco had been really cranky and wouldn't nap for more than an hour at a time, and considering how much they sleep during a day at this age, I thought, for once, I would get a full night sleep.

… No.

It must have been the back of eleven when he finished off another bottle – I haven't gone for breastfeeding, but that's a different story – I burped him, soothed him and we had a nice cuddle for fifteen or so minutes. His eyes slowly closed before drifting off into a peaceful sleep. I somehow managed to take him up the stairs and into the crib without the slightest of disturbances – God knows how I did that. I made myself ready for bed, kissed my sons' forehead, whispered I loved him and practically leaped into the comfort of my bed. I fell asleep the second my head hit the pillow.

An hour or so later I wake up on high alert to the sound of Draco wailing from across the room. I then notice the rain and figure out that it must have been that which awoke my little boy. His crying soothed down once I brought him into my arms, I took several walks around my room, humming nursery rhymes and doing whatever the hell I could to help him go back to sleep. The rain gets louder, and so does his crying. Four o'clock in the morning and I'm still awake, singing Rock-a-Bye Baby for the millionth time, lying on my bed with one hand keeping my head propped up and the other protectively around my son.

That night, I tried feeding, I tried changing, I tried practically everything, but nothing worked. Thankfully the next day he napped a lot more, so I managed to sneak in some power naps to re-boost a small amount of my energy. But the storm kept brewing, and Draco kept waking up.

It's now five am on Wednesday morning, and I'm back to the same routine. Fortunately, the weather forecast has predicted that the storm should be over with for ten o'clock or so this morning. I'm praying for it to be correct – I can't take these restless nights.

My lack of sleep can't be healthy, which is why I'm reaching for my phone, but soothing Draco at the same time. "Let's have a chat with your daddy, yeah?" Edward is not going to like this…

He doesn't pick up before the voicemail service kicks in, so I hang up and try again. This time he answers.

"Hmm?" He grunts, clearly half asleep.

"Edward?"

"Hm."

"I need you to help me."

"Yeah."

"Look, I really need to… " his heavy breathing tells me that he's gone back to sleep. "Oh for goodness sake. Edward!"

"What?"

"Can you please listen to me?"

"…yam."

"No you are not!"

He coughs twice, then the heavy breathing returns.

Oh I'm about to murder this boy!

"Edward!" I use a little extra force than last time, which makes Draco whimper and I instantly regret my actions.

"_What?_" He screams. "Am I not allowed to fucking sleep?"

He did not just say that…

"You're really complaining about sleep? Our son has kept me up every night since Sunday. I desperately need to get some form of sleep."

"Okay, and I'm going to help, how?"

"Please, can you come over here and look after him whilst I sleep? I'll be awake and can take over in time for you to head to school." Edward has decided that he's going to finish his education and so he's been back there for over a week. It's only been two weeks since Draco was born! But, whatever, he can do what he likes I guess.

"Why can't your dad look after him?"

"Because he is _your _son!"

He mumbled something which I couldn't quite understand. "What did you say?" I asked.

"Nothing." He sighed deeply, "right, fine! I'll be over in twenty minutes."

After we hung up, I held Draco securely in my hands and raised him above me so that he could look straight down at my face. "Who's going to have some fun with daddy? " I made sure that my smile was large and my eyes were wide. Draco copied me by widening his eyes a little too – which I've heard could be a form of noticing my smile and trying to respond… or something like that. I can't wait until he can smile and laugh – Facebook picture moments.

Talking about Facebook, I was on it the other day – replying to people's messages, congratulating me and asking how I am. I had uploaded a photo of Draco a few days after he was born and smiled at all the loving messages it received. Just out of curiosity, I went onto Edward's page just to see if he had put or said anything.

And he had.

According to the date, Edward had posted a status the day after Draco was born saying: "_watch out, there is another Cullen boy about. Welcome to the world Draco." _It had received twenty-three 'likes' and when reading the comments some people left, I couldn't help but laugh.

**Lauren Mallory **congrats baby love you (: xxxxxxxx

**Jessica Stanley **congratulations! I must be so happy! :D X

**Edward Cullen **why?

**Jessica Stanley **oops! I mean u! LOL! X

**Edward Cullen **Ha.

I love how blunt he had been with them. Lauren and Jessica were probably hoping that Edward would be all '_thank you, love you too baby. Oh Jessica, you are so funny' _but it seemed as though he couldn't give a damn. And frankly, neither could I.

Half an hour after Edward agreed to come over, he still hadn't turned up. But right before I messaged Alice to get him out of bed, I received a message from Edward saying '_just leaving, wont be long' _. Even though he can be a complete pain in the ass, I must give Edward some credit. It is five in the morning and he's agreeing to come and take care of Draco as I sleep. I don't know whether he is doing it for Draco's sake and to spend more time with him, or if he's genuinely concerned over how tired I am and how much sleep I have missed out on. Either way, it's lovely of him to come out here after being so rudely awaken.

I knew, the second he stepped from his car, that Edward had come over just to see Draco. If it wasn't so early in the morning, he would have slammed the car door – he is pissed at me; I'll tell you that for free.

I had Draco settled in the living room in his baby bouncer so I could greet Edward at the door without having to balance him at the same time – I'm still nervous and a little unsure at all that. He walked straight into my house without muttering a word. Tore his jacket off and kicked off his shoes. "You owe me big for this," he finally said.

I wanted to scream and shout, but I found it in myself to keep my voice to a whisper. "_Me? _I don't owe you anything, Edward. I'm still recovering from his birth and I have to walk around this house at all hours of the day. It's only fair that you chip in and care for him too."

"Don't you even start, Bella. You said you haven't been able to sleep for days, so, tell me, why did it take you this long to call? Huh?" I didn't know how to answer. "Exactly, you were trying to prove to us that you can handle him by yourself. Well fuck that, you want me to chip in and help? Fucking pick up the phone and call me!"

My whole body went tense, trying to keep in my aggravation. "Will you just… _shut up," _I whispered harshly, "my dad is trying to sleep and I don't want you to swear like that in front of Draco."

Edward rolled his eyes, "whatever," he muttered, baking away from me and going to seek out Draco in the next room. A large smile crossed his face as he kneeled before our little boy, taking his clenched fist in his hand and shaking it lightly. Edward slipped his hands underneath Draco's arms and brought him out of the bouncer and close to his chest. "Hello my special, little boy. Daddy has missed you."

My heart swelled at the sight and adoration that pooled from both father and son – Draco's relaxed posture is a clue that he's happy to see Edward. I didn't want to interrupt them, but I had to get some sleep. "I'll put my alarm on for seven-thirty so you can still get to school on time. If you want some breakfast, just grab whatever from the kitchen. He had been fed and changed just a short while ago, so you shouldn't need to do any of that."

Edward didn't take his eyes off of Draco to speak to me, "I'll be fine. Go and sleep, Bella."

"Okay. Um… thank-thank you."

"My pleasure, just go and get some sleep."

And again, like Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Edward had changed into this loving person who I loved being around. The polar opposite of who had walked through my door not five minutes ago.

I didn't like leaving Draco downstairs, but I knew he is in brilliant hands, and that Edward wouldn't allow the tiniest of things to harm him. It's really sweet actually; I don't have to worry about Draco being left on the sofa when Edward leaves the room or anything, because he's too scared to leave him alone on the _floor! _ But even so, like any parent, I have those nagging feelings at the back of my mind.

I didn't think I would get to sleep because of worrying, but I was out with the click of my fingers.

**xxx**

"Bella…" A faint voice began to bring me from my slumber. "Bella… you need to wake up now." At this current moment in time, I couldn't make sense of anything. Who is talking to me? Why do I need to wake up? What's the – _Draco! _How could I even forget about my tiny bundle of joy for the tiniest of seconds? Then everything came flooding back to me. Edward being dragged here, looking after Draco as I slept, then going off to school once I woke up…

Shit…

You know that feeling when you wake up, but you're almost certain you've over-slept? I'm having that moment right now. My eyes snap open and I sit up in bed – a bit too quickly I must admit – and see Charlie standing next to my bed with a snoozing Draco settled safely in his arms. I look around the room, trying to find a clock somewhere – forgetting where I had put my phone – but Charlie beat me to it.

"It's ten-twenty, Bells."

_Ten-twenty?_

_Twenty past ten in the morning?_

_Shit!_

"Oh, my God. Edward must be so late for school."

He's going to be so angry at me now.

"It's alright," Charlie sat at the foot of my bed, adjusting the way Draco lay before continuing to speak. "Edward went off to school with plenty of time to spare. I don't start until eleven, so I allowed you to sleep for longer."

Even so, that didn't take the guilt away from my mind. "How was Draco?" Charlie never gets a late morning start, and the one time he does, he's made to look after his grandson.

"He was as good as gold. When I got downstairs shortly after seven, Edward had heated up a bottle and in the middle of feeding him, I then over-heard him reading a story and playing '_This Little Piggy'. _Draco must have been exhausted from all that fun and games, he's been asleep since Edward left. Well, he woke up a couple times, but soon went back off to sleep."

I take back every negative comment that I've thought towards Edward regarding how much he cares for his son. Charlie's story clearly shows how much he cares. I knew he would come around sooner or later. The number of times he said he didn't feel anything for Draco, when all along, he couldn't fight the love that he feels.

"Wow… thank you, dad. I really appreciate it."

"Don't sweat it, Bells. I know what it's like not to get any sleep, and you've been outstanding with Draco, you deserve the rest. But right now, I need to head to work, and I think that smell is coming from this little guy…"

Only now do I take notice on the strong smell wafting around the room. "Yeah, I think so too. Thanks dad, once again." Charlie passes over Draco without a word and smiles before waving slightly and leaving the room.

"Right, Mr. Smelly Bum, I think it's time you have a bath."

**xxx**

**bring draco over at lunch**

You know, Edward, it would be so much easier if you added in question marks. Are you ordering me to, or are you asking if I can?

His message had been sent just before ten this morning, but I only read it now once Draco had been freshened up and changed into a fresh and clean outfit.

**Do you want me to bring him at lunch time? Or are you asking if I can?**

I've made myself a small snack by the time a reply arrives.

**can you**

Again, punctuation would have been handy.

**Er… actually yeah, I need to collect some work anyway, so I could get that down before lunch, and meet you afterwards?**

**k**

Edward Cullen; a man of little words.

**xxx**

Heading to school wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I had been – pardon my French – shitting a brick at the thought of taking Draco into school and walking around, visiting my teachers and bumping into other people. But it all turned out okay. Ms. Cope even offered to look after him for me whilst I ran around the school getting my necessary work. I politely shot that offer down; I don't like being apart from him. My English teacher cooed and made terrifying faces at Draco, which made him cry – good on you, my son. Pupils in the class muffled their laughs the best way they could.

Shortly after the lunch bell rang, Edward, Alice, Jasper, Mike and Jessica (I doubt they were invited over, but oh well) came to meet me at the quadrangle. Alice sprinted up, pulled me into an enormous hug then crouched in front of Draco, covering his face in kisses and telling him how much she missed seeing his face – her words, not mine.

When Edward made it over, he stood impatiently behind his sister, tapping his right foot and rolling his eyes. I took this opportunity to thank him again for this morning. He waved it off with a shrug of his shoulders, mumbling that he didn't mind and it wasn't a trouble.

Funny, that's not what you said when you first arrived.

I didn't know whether Edward wanted me to know what Charlie had said, so I never mentioned it – he could be embarrassed.

He finally had the chance to take Draco in his arms and kissed the top of his head lightly.

"Oh, my goodness, Edward! He is such a little darling!" Jessica stood way too close for my liking.

_Momma bear has arrived…_

She was just about to prod his cheeks with one of her false nails, when I grabbed onto her arm to stop her. "Stand back from my son, please." My voice held no joke.

Jessica gave me an incredulous look. "Er… I'm not going to hurt him. Jesus Bella, calm the fuck down."

_Oh, no she didn't. _

I didn't have the time to think of a comeback. Edward snapped into 'protective father' mode pretty quickly. "What the fuck did you just say? Apologise to Bella and then get the fuck out of my sight. I don't want you anywhere around our son. Understand that? Or do I need to write it down?"

Jessica stood, wide eyed, terrified by what Edward just said. She stuttered a shit apology and practically fled the area – probably with her tail between her legs.

Mike Newton then thought that he should speak as well. "Ha, good one, mate. Bitch needs to learn a lesson, eh?"

Edward turned around to face Mike. "And what do you think you're doing here? We're having a family gathering. So you can go and follow Jessica too, if you could please be so kind."

Alice and Jasper had turned their backs to the situation. From the way their shoulders shook, I could tell they were laughing. I must admit, I'm trying to bite my laughter too.

"Eurgh, they never learn." Edward groaned, mostly to himself.

"_My father _will _hear about this."_

**xxx**

**Shit ending, I'm sorry. But the last line, for those who aren't a fan of Harry Potter, is a Draco Malfoy quote. Just sayin'.**

**This will be my last update before Christmas, so have a very Merry Christmas and I'll see you all later!**

**Rosie xx **


	9. Small Bump

_**A/N – I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and New Year. There are time skips the next couple of chapters, because the 'juicy' stuff starts when Draco is a few years old :) **_

_****You can wrap your fingers 'round my thumb, and hold me tight  
>you are my one and only<br>you can wrap your fingers 'round my thumb, and hold me tight  
>and you'll be alright. <em>

**Ed Sheeran - Small Bump**_  
><em>

_**10 months later - December**_

_**Edward**_

"'_Tis the season to be jolly… fa-la-la-la-la… and… fuck, fuck, fuck." _ I mumble the song in a whisper as I search furiously for my lighter. Where the hell have I put it? I search my jacket pockets, my jean pockets, on my bed; under my bed and every surface in my room. I always chuck my Malboros and my lighter on my bed when I come into the room. Did the lighter grow a pair of fucking legs and walk off? I don't think so.

I glance at the time on my phone as my search pursues. Shit, I have to be at Bella's in five minutes. And I'm in an irritated state, without some nicotine in my system I'm gonna lose my shit at some point during the day, and I'm spending the day with Draco, so I need my smoke now before I get there. So where the fuck is my lighter?

Piss it, I don't have the time to search any more. I grab my jacket and Malboros as well as phone, wallet and keys before leaving my room and heading downstairs.

"Emmett?" I shout around the house, in the chance that he can hear me. Emmett has come home for Christmas. He arrived yesterday – the twenty-second - staying until the twenty-sixth and then going off to stay with Rose and her family for New Year. He hears my name calling, and appears from the living room with a large, family bag of Doritos in his hand.

"Yeah?" As he speaks, a load of crumbs fly free from his mouth.

"Where's your lighter? I can't find mine and need to be at Bella's, like, now."

Emmett's eyes widen in shock. "Fuck sake, man. Wanna keep it down a bit? Mum doesn't know I smoke."

"Dude, she's going to find out sooner or later. And, you know, she probably knows you do already."

"Not the point. And I don't have my lighter with me – Rose stole it; her attempt to get me to stop."

_Couldn't have told me that when we first started talking?_

"But, there are some matches in the cupboard by the hob; use them."

_Emmett you have redeemed yourself. Genius!_

"Thank you, thank you!"

I don't waste any more time pissing about, and tear out the driveway before my belt is buckled. I arrive at Bella's in record time, parking my car up behind her boisterous truck thing. I stare out the window, over her front lawn which has a brightly coloured football and a tiny baby slide plotted about. My God, Draco is growing up fast.

As I light up – with all windows down – I send Bella a brief text, saying I'm outside and having a smoke. She replies saying that the front door will be open. It is a rule that Bella has placed, to smoke with all the windows down when I'm in the car. I never, ever, smoke around Draco – and I never will – but Bella is scared of the fumes that may still float around if Draco gets in the car straight after I smoked. So she makes me put the windows down.

I resist the urge to have another as I sit here. But I'm nearly twenty minutes late, so I don't want to push Bella any further than I probably already have.

As I walk through the doors, I expect to hear Bella chatting away happily with Draco like she does, talking about everything and nothing. Instead, I hear Draco crying and wailing and then the sound of something plastic hitting the floor.

"Hello?" I wander through to the kitchen. Bella has one hand braced on Draco's high chair as she's kneeling down, cleaning up the contents of the bowl that had recently been dropped – probably thrown – to the floor. My little boy is twisting his body from side to side, arching his back and screaming his head off. He's kicking his legs wildly, narrowly missing Bella's head.

As Bella stands up, she rubs her fingers across her forehead and squeezes her eyes shut. "Are you okay?" I ask, tapping her shoulder tenderly.

"I'm fine." _No you're not. I smell bullshit like a shark smells blood._

"For once, can you stop being the…_bloody _hero? Is it really that hard to accept that you need some help?"

Bella pushes past me and over to the kitchen counter where she continues to plop something into a bowl. "I'm not trying to be a hero. I'm acting like any mother would when their baby son refuses to cooperate. Whatever I do, it's never right and because of that, I get the tail-end of hurricane Draco!" She takes a baby spoon from the cutlery drawer, grabs the bowl of… whatever that thing is, and proceeds to put it on the tray of Draco's high chair. He takes one look at the crap, and then pushes it away. The bowl topples over the edge once again.

"See! I can't go a day without failing at something. I'm not set out to be a mother."

"Now don't sprout that shit. Looking after a baby is hard; harder than you think until you actually have one. Draco is a bright little boy – because of your parenting – but he is acting like every baby does when they don't get their own way." I bend over to pick up the dropped bowl, scooping up as much of the mess that fell from it. "Before he can speak proper sentences, Draco's only communication is to scream or make a noise – you should know that, Bella." I take a look at the gunk in the bowl. "What is this?"

"Mashed-up banana."

"Jesus, no wonder he's crying; I would too if someone gave me this." I lift Draco free from the clutches of his seat, hold him too my chest and smile brightly, "Hey, little man. I missed you." Kissing his forehead, my smile widens when Draco copies it. He falls forward, wrapping his tiny arms around my neck and lies his cheek on my shoulder.

Looking over his body, I watch Bella pull her hair up into a shaggy pony tail and start to fill the sink with water. "What have you got planned today?"

"Er…" She pours some washing-up liquid into the stream of water, "I have a few more presents to wrap and think of some better meals I guess."

"Well the second you finish that, you're going to sleep, or have a bath or something you people do to relax. I'll be out all day with Draco – I thought Port Angeles would be the place to go – and then he will stay at my house tonight."

"What? Edward, no, I can't let you do that."

"Look, he's my son; we share joint custody. I deserve to have him stay with me just as much as you do. And your outburst not five minutes ago tells me that you could do with the night off."

Bella hesitated, "are you sure?"

"I wouldn't offer if I didn't mean it. I will pop by on our way back, I'll collect his stuff then and you can say goodnight. Deal?"

She hesitated again, "alright fine. What time should I come and get him tomorrow?"

"Whenever you want. Just text me when you're on your way."

"Okay. And, thank you, Edward; I really appreciate it."

"Don't mention it, but I should probably be on my way if we have any hope in buying presents." I put all my attention onto Draco, "say 'bye-bye' to mummy." I adjust Draco's position so that his back is against my chest. He puts one hand out to Bella.

Bella crouches down to his level, tickles his tummy with both hands and kisses his cheeks. "Be good for daddy. I love you."

"Da-ya." Draco squeals, reaching both hands out for Bella. We have a feeling 'da-ya' means 'dada', which he uses to great everyone in the family – not just me -, but he's still putting faces to the names.

We both put him in his winter jacket, hat and fleecy mittens, fold up the pushchair and then head to my car. I can tell that Bella is anxious, but she's doing her best to keep it under locks. Once everything is ready to go, she hugs Draco once more, whispers she loves him, kisses his face before closing the door and allowing me to go.

"I'll call you when we're heading back, 'kay?"

"Okay. Thank you; ring me if anything goes wrong."

"Bella, Christ, I'll be fine; trust me. Enjoy the peace."

She mumbled something as I closed my door, something along the lines of 'unlikely'. Turning my head around, I watch the road behind me as I reverse from her driveway. My eyes connect with Draco's. "Ready for a day with Daddy?" He smiles and bounces.

I'll take that as a 'yes', shall I?

**Xxx**

"Right, I'll need your help, bud." With Draco settled in his push chair, I finish donning my jacket and locking my car before pushing him off towards the shops. "We need to find a present for mummy. What do you think she would like?... 'Cause I ain't got a clue." I mumbled the last to myself. But it wouldn't have made a difference whether I spoke them louder or not; he doesn't understand me – the kid is only ten months for Christ's sake.

Draco reached up to me using his right hand. "Ay-ya."

Two seconds.

_Any, er, baby translators out there? If so, do you know what 'ay-ya' means? _

"Ay-yaaaaa" Draco repeats.

_Heya? Is he saying 'heya'?_

"Hello."

Draco talks his gibberish again, "poh," I take his tiny hand in mine and shake it lightly. Whatever it is that I'm doing works for a few minutes, Draco settles down and doesn't make a sound, but then, like the flick of a switch Draco turns mental. He's screaming, his body is twisting about in his seat and whenever I try to touch his face (in hope that it'll calm him down) he swats my hand away like a fly.

I try everything that I can think of. "Are you hungry?" From the tray underneath Draco's seat, I grab a pot of finger foods that Bella had prepared for me. "Do you want some watermelon?" – He doesn't. I put the pot back and bring out some milk, "are you thirsty?" - Apparently not. Pushing the push chair into a quiet area of the parking lot, I unstrap Draco and bring him into my hold. Bouncing on the ball of my feet, I keep a safe hold on his back and his head.

"Come on dude, what is with this screaming?"

I sniff his butt, he smells clean to me.

I really don't want to ring Bella and ask for advice. I'm his fucking father; I need to cope by myself.

But after ten minutes, I don't hold back, and ring Bella's mobile.

"Edward? Are you okay?"

"Could you -."

"—is that Draco? Why is he crying? What have you done? What's happening?"

"You think I did this? He was saying 'hi' to me and then started screaming! He doesn't want fruit, he doesn't want milk; what can I do?"

"That black bag that I gave you, is it in the push chair?"

"Er…" I bend down slightly to see said bag at the back of the tray, "yeah, I have it here."

"I put his favourite toy in there; that should be what he is after. If not, then I'm sorry, but there isn't much else I can do."

"Right, okay, thank you."

"No problem, Edward. Give me a ring if you need anything."

"I will thank you."

It's a struggle to put Draco back in his seat, but I finally do it. I find the toy Bella mentioned – a stuffed Elmo puppet thing – and watch as his eyes grow wide and shine with excitement. His crying stops and a smile breaks out across his face. This is what he wanted the whole time? He had that major tantrum for Elmo?

Fuck sake, I'm never going to understand children.

"Right, are we good to go now?" Draco seemed too interested in Elmo to pay me the speck of attention.

Can't you just feel the love?

**xxx**

Surprisingly, it never took me that long to find all the gifts for my family (I even picked up some more presents for Draco) all I had left is something for Bella. Alice had said that she loves to read and making visual memories - photos, videos, that sort of shit - is another main hobby and interest. I soon decided on a book (hopefully one she hasn't read) and an electronic photo frame which I'll fill with pictures of Draco etc. and videos of him too; I managed to buy them pretty easily.

Now, I needed coffee.

And a smoke, but I'll need to wait till later for that one.

"Do you want a coffee, Draco? Latte? Milk and two? Or is pumpkin juice more to your liking?"

Draco busied himself by patting his knees whilst nodding his head.

_Do I take that as a yes, or?_

Draco then began to shake his head. "Right, you can decide on your answer, but Daddy needs some refuelling. Little man, you sure know how to burn the energy from someone." I found a tiny café which didn't seem to have that many occupants, so I wheeled the push chair inside and found a table towards the back.

I parked Draco to the side of the table and wasted no time in unbuckling his belt and bringing him to my lap. His faint hair had been messed up from the hat he wore all day, my fingers made light work brushing through it, flattening it out over his head. I have the bottle of milk and pot of finger foods in front of us. Bella had cut up tiny pieces of watermelon, taken out every single seed and made sure that each piece is just large enough so that he cannot choke on them.

I took one piece and held it close enough for Draco to reach out and grab it. He hasn't learnt how to use his fingers properly yet, so took the watermelon in his palm and squashed his hand to his mouth, his gums mashed down the fruit.

"Can I take your order?" A middle-aged women in a white shirt and pink-striped apron asked, spooking me out of my admiration watching my son. She had a tatty white notepad in one hand and a blue biro in the other, waiting to write down whatever I ordered.

"Just a, er, large black coffee, please."

She scribbled away on the paper, "nothing for the little one?"

"He's fine, thank you."

"Your coffee will be over in just a minute."

"Thank you."

As I sat here, my hands began to absentmindedly tap on the table like a bongo set. I watched in amazement as Draco dropped his watermelon piece in his hand and copied my movements. We spent the best part of five minutes playing this copy-cat game. I would slap twice, he would slap twice, and so on. His chuckle and squirms on my lap encouraged the smile on my face to broaden.

Draco twisted around to look at me and pointed a chubby finger in my direction. "Ah-dya"

Putting a palm flat over my chest, I spoke the word 'Daddy' slowly. Again, Draco squealed "ah-dya".

"Can you say 'daddy', Draco? Da-dee. Daaa-deee."

"Ay-ee."

I congratulated his triumphs, and whilst doing so, the waitress brought over my coffee. A bowl containing sachets of sugar came with it – I emptied out three into my mug.

"Edward?" I turned my head to see a familiar face staring down at me.

"Angela?" Angela Webber is a good friend of Bella's, and moved to Seattle with her family a little over a year ago. She came down for the Baby Shower, but that has been the last time we saw her. "Hey, how are you doing?"

"Do you mind if I sit down?" I motion towards the empty seat with my hand. She smiles as she takes it, "I'm fine thank you, and how are you doing? Being a father and all." My hand pats Draco's arm, Angela looks at us with a loving smile on her face.

"It can be a struggle, but he's so worth it – I wouldn't change it for the world."

"You're going to be an amazing father, Edward; I can already see how great you are." Draco has made one almighty mess, squishing a piece of watermelon onto the table and rubbing it around with his hands. I sigh in amusement, pulling a bundle of napkins from their holder to clean up his mess. Angela laughs as she watches us. "His name is Draco, right?" I nod, "I love that name. I don't see why people think it should be…_forbidden _just because it's a character," that took me by surprise. I know a few people who don't particularly like the name, well fuck them – he's my son, I can call him whatever I want. But Angela's words put some meaning into it. "If the author hadn't made up the name, I'm sure somebody would have; why is it a bad choice?"

"Wow. Thank you, Angela. You have no idea how amazing that was to hear."

"That's what friends are for, I guess."

I notice Draco staring at Angela, his head jolted to the side slightly. I make sure he has my attention and then point ahead. "Her name is Angela; she is a friend of Mummy and Daddy's'. Can you say 'Angela'? Ann-gee-laa?"

She leant across the table, resting on her arms, smiling brightly at my son. "Hello Draco."

Draco cowered back into my chest, covering his face with his arms.

"Don't be scared little man, say hello." I gently bring his arms away, and watch his scared face turn to look at Angela.

She places her hands over her eyes, and then bring them away suddenly, "peek-a-boo!" she plays this game a couple more times. Draco relaxes and begins to smile. "peek-a-boo!" Taking his hands in mine, I make him play along. After several goes, Draco starts to do it himself. A beautiful smile etched on his face the whole time.

**xxx**

"It was great to see you, but I should get this little one home and into bed." Angela had helped me put Draco back into his push chair, and, after one more game of 'peek-a-boo', we walked together down the streets and to where I had parked my car.

"I'm over this way," she points to the right, "but have a lovely Christmas, and we should catch up again soon."

"Yeah definitely, I'll tell Bella you said hi?"

"That'll be great. See you around. Bye!"

"Bye. C'mon mate. Let's go home."

**xxx**

**Bella.**

Okay, so I shouldn't be anxious. Everything is going to be fine.

Edward has been out with Draco for just over eight hours, but they went to Port Angeles, so that takes a fair amount of time, and if Draco has one of his famous tantrums, Edward will be stuck to deal with that until the water calms. I felt sorry for him when he rung earlier; I know just how hard it can be to calm Draco down.

He hasn't rung me since then, so I'm guessing he carried on with the shopping, probably got something to eat and had fun hanging about with his son. I only hope that he's on his way home now. It's gone six o'clock, nearly time for Draco to have some dinner and a bath, and he still has to pop over to get an over-night bag.

At that second, my phone starts to ring.

This will be Edward now, see, not to worry. He's going to say he's on his way, or, that he's just about to drive up.

But the screen says 'Charlie', which I do not expect.

"Hey dad."

"Heya Bells, just to let you know that I won't be home for dinner; there has been a crash on the 101 leading to Port Angeles, so I'm being called over to help."

"Oh God, is it bad?"

"No, no, it's not dreadful. I just have to help control traffic."

"Okay, I'll see you when you get back – I'll heat up your dinner for you then."

"Excellent, bye."

Aah, see, nothing to worry about. There are major delays on the roads.

_Edward will ring if anything was wrong._

Yes, yes, I must remember that. I need to calm down.

By the time I made and had dinner, wrapped a plate for Charlie and cleaned the dishes, it had been nearly an hour and a half since Charlie's phone call. I turn the TV on for some background noise as I clean the living room. The local news had just started.

_Incoming traffic report: there has been a collision involving a –_

The ringing of my phone interrupts the news reporter's voice. I mute the TV to answer. It's Charlie again.

"Bella…" a loud smash from his end of the line muffled whatever Charlie had said.

"What? Dad, I can't hear you."

"The car involved in the crash… its Edward's."

**xxx**

***RosieRathbone will now hide under the nearest rock whilst you throw hate-bombs at her.*  
>Um… review?<strong>

**xx**


	10. Tears in the Rain

_**A/N- Expect some serious shit and strong language to come from Edward during this chapter :oP *nom***_

_Tears in the rain,  
>Hidin' the pain,<br>Maybe she'd come back,  
>If she could see me cry,<br>She thinks I'm so strong,  
>Oh, but she's so wrong,<br>She just couldn't see these tears in the rain._

_**Tim McGraw – Tears in the Rain.**_

_**Charlie.**_

Bright lights from the ambulance flickered in the distance, a fire engine cut in front of my cruiser to get closer to the action. I'm the only one that had been sent out to help from Forks; they said it should be enough, what with a selection of their men assisting also. I told Bella that it isn't a serious accident, but now I have a feeling I might have been wrong. Ambulances (at least two or three), Fire Engines (two) and it looked like two cars had been upturned and another looking a little worse for wear.

I parked the cruiser off to one side and crossed to the first person on duty, I asked for a quick run-down on the accident. A baby's cry could be heard from one of the cars in the pile up. The man before me started to explain what I had to do – something about diverting the traffic. But that baby crying played around in my mind more than anything.

"Is there a baby in one of the cars?"

"If we make two lines -."

"_Is there a baby in one of the cars?" _ I near enough shouted.

"Er… er, yes s-sir. The silver car furthest away."

I hated how familiar that cry seemed to me. It scared me how much it sounded like Draco's… but it can't be, because Draco is with Edward today; all babies sound the same; nothing to worry about. But I couldn't walk away when that baby is crying his little eyes out. "I see there are two silver cars. Which one holds the baby?"

"It's a silver Volvo, a young man was driving."

Silver Volvo, you say?

A young man…

Familiar cry…

No, I'm sorry, but these are too coincidental. I can't continue until I know that Draco is fine. I take off running to the cars, the officer I had been speaking to shouts and calls for me to stop, but I ignore his pleads and continue to run. A sickening feeling fills my insides when I seek out the body flopped over the steering wheel. I knew it is Edward before even having to get a closer look.

_Oh Jesus, what a nightmare._

"Chief Swan, please let the paramedics do their work." It's that same man who I spoke to. He is getting on my nerves.

I spin around to see, not just him, but a couple other people as well. "That baby in there is my grandson. Are you seriously going to make me walk away and leave him sitting there? And the young man in the front seat is the baby's father, which makes him part of my family. I'm sorry, but I don't walk away from my family." My audience don't mutter a word; I take their silence as an allowance to continue what I had been doing.

I know the basic first aid skills, and I know what a broken leg, arm, wrist or foot would look like, but I don't know how to detect major, severe problems. I use my only knowledge in the medical department to assist with Edward's injuries. His arms are stretched over the dash board, I spot an angry red mark on his neck where the seatbelt has rubbed and scratched away at it. He has a cut on the hairline, trickling blood down his face and pooling on his shirt. They are the only injuries I can see, I pray that it stays that way.

"Edward, if you can hear me, I want you to open your eyes." His eyes fluttered open, and then softly closed again. "No, no, no, come on son. You've got to stay with me here, open your eyes."

"Dra… Draco… gethimout." He is fighting to keep his eyes open.

"I'm getting to him as soon as I know that you're okay. Does anything hurt?"

"…My leg."

"Okay. Edward, you need to keep as still as possible in case you've injured your spine. I will make sure that Draco is safe and someone will get you out of there."

The side both Edward and Draco are on has been severely dented, which has blocked me from opening the doors. I go to the other side and sigh in relief when the door opens without trouble. Draco's heart-breaking wails are just as strong as they were when I first arrived. I check him over, but he appears to be fine, just spooked.

Draco is a smart little boy; he knew something was wrong, as he pointed to Edward when I took him from his seat. He spoke his gibberish through his crying and leant forward for receive Edward's comfort.

"Daddy will be fine, come on buddy." He's secure in my arms when I step from the car. I tell a couple paramedics about Edward's pain in his leg and say that we'd need fireman to cut the door away. I take this opportunity to fill Bella in on the situation. As I start to talk, a car door falls to the ground near me, the glass smashes into smithereens, and so I repeat my words to Bella. She's completely silent for a few seconds, but then explodes.

"_Draco, Draco, my baby. Oh, my God, dad! Save my baby! Please I –"_

"—Bella, you're being hysterical. He is just fine."

"_Oh my… thank God. Okay, right, I'll head over there now."_

"Stay at home, there is too much traffic, you won't manage to get through. I'll be finished up here soon. Trust me, Bells, Draco is absolutely fine."

"Okay, thank you Dad."

"Nothing to thank me for. I'll call you in a bit."

Paramedics have put a neck-brace on Edward to steady his head and were now carefully easing him from the cramped car and onto a stretcher. When he had said his leg was sore, I thought it'll just be a broken ankle or a bad cut. I never expected to see this. His jean leg had been cut open and revealed an obvious fracture sticking from his lower leg, a swollen knee-cap and various bruises as well as blood spotted about. They were putting a brace around his leg which, thanks to his explicit words, caused some pain.

"_Fuck me that… fuck." _ Normally, I would try and put a stop to those words, but I understand how much pain he is in, and that it tends to slip out. Draco's large, tear-filled eyes never stopped looking at Edward; he continuously reached out towards him, and mumbled some gibberish when he never reached Edward's attention.

He's beating himself up over this. He's blaming himself when there is no need to. So for that, he's being reclusive and closing in on himself. I don't need to have some special skill to tell that. He's a dad; it's our job to blame ourselves even when our child catches a common cold. But when he sees that Draco is just fine, he'll snap out of it.

… I hope.

**xxx**

**Edward**

That fucking car came out of fucking no-where. I go from driving carefully to swerving off the fucking road 'cause that son of a bitch doesn't know how to drive. The car that hit me hits another car and flips both of them over. The sudden hold up in the road surprises some drivers, I am sitting side on, on a busy junction with cars heading straight towards me – it has happened so quickly they haven't had the time to stop. I find the energy somewhere to reverse a couple inches. If I hadn't done that, the blind prick that drove right into my door/ front wheel, would have driven into Draco.

_Fuck I… _

_Eurgh, just the thought makes me feel sick. And angry as fuck, I would have hunted that fucker down._

I don't remember much of what happened at that time, the only thing I remember is hearing some sickening crunch, then feeling the worst fucking pain I've ever felt. The pain must have made me pass out, because the next thing I remember is Charlie Swan staring at me through my broken window – God knows when or how that smashed. Charlie is a decent man; I respect him, but you tend to shit a brick when a face is right before you when you open your eyes. Especially if that person probably hates your guts because you knocked up their innocent daughter at age seventeen.

Smooth move, Cullen.

My memory is vague from then also. I know that the only thing I thought was to get Draco out of the car and to make sure he gets as far away as possible. I remember getting lifted from my car, the unbearable pain filling every vein in my body; I have never experienced pain like that and I hope that I never do again. My boy is crying next to me – he's safe with Charlie – I make out his attempts to say 'Daddy' and it breaks my fucking heart. I can't look at him without my guilt increasing. If I had paid more attention to the road, or even went shopping yesterday instead of today, he wouldn't have been crying like he is now, and he wouldn't have been in a fucking car crash!

There are so many things that I did today which I could have gone without. I could have been home hours ago, with Draco bathed and ready for bed by now, not in an ambulance with his father who can't fucking drive. On the way to the hospital, I put out my hand for Draco to take, to offer him some reassurance that I'm okay. I'm not 'okay', but I'm not dead either, so it's got to count for something I guess.

**xxx**

They gave me God's gift when I arrived back at Forks hospital – morphine. The mask is fitted around my neck brace (which I don't actually need) and I take it all in like it's going out of fashion. Another name for this (apart from God's gift) is 'laughing gas', fuck knows where that came from – I still want to scream.

Of course Carlisle had to be working tonight. Of course my whole immediate family had to be informed and of course Bella looks like she wants to cut off my balls and wear them as a necklace. I close my eyes to try and get away from all the attention, which causes Esme to have some major freak out. Emmett's words were something like, '_Jesus, mum, calm down; he just closed his eyes!'_

Esme then went on to say, '_Your brother has been in a major car accident, he could have died! So don't tell me to calm down.'_

I wouldn't say I nearly died… nor would I say that it had been a major car accident. But, oh well, I can't face the idea of telling them otherwise. Emmett tells me how jealous he is of the scars that I will sport for the rest of my life – you can take them, brother. Before too long, Carlisle informs us that the x-ray room is free for my use.

I like how, before the x-ray happened, they thought to tell me that it wouldn't hurt. Do you think I'm capable of feeling any more pain? That anything could be worse than what I'm feeling right now? Even with the morphine, it hurts. That isn't a good thing, is it?

I have been put onto a ward when my results come back. Carlisle gives nothing away with any expression on his face. "It's not good news, Edward."

Just looking at it you can tell it isn't good news! "Well I knew it wasn't just a sprain." I reply flippantly.

"No, I mean it's more than just a break." Carlisle clips the scan onto a light board. _Oh, Jesus fuck, what a mess. _"Your fibula has broken," he points to various places of the scan with the tip of a pen, "and you have fractured your tibia. Charlie described the dent in your car, and seems as though the opposing car drive over the part that it hit, which would have been right above your leg."

So some bastard drove over my leg? Yeah, I am going to hunt that fucker down.

"_Asshole… _Right, so what is the punishment for that?"

Carlisle took a deep breath before he spoke – it is bad news. "This isn't just a case of putting it in a cast and let nature take its toll. You're going to need surgery to fix the open fracture and you're going to need screws to keep the fibula in place and a metal rod to mend the fractured tibia."

"What will the recovery be like?"

"It could take between four to six months to heal fully and you'll need physical therapy to help muscle support once you're healed. It'll be a long time before you will manage to walk properly again."

"_Fucking A." _I mumble to myself, although my family over-hear me. I gaze past them and spot that Bella had left with Draco – don't blame her. To be honest with you, I don't see why she looked so angry at me. I'm aloud to blame myself, but why should she? Bitch didn't even ask if I was okay.

Believe me, I'll be having a word or two with Ms. Swan next time I see her.

**xxx**

My operation went underway that evening, the following afternoon I'm still recovering plus feeling very sorry for myself. I dose off at some point during the day, and wake up a few hours later to someone sitting beside me. She doesn't realise I have woken up, so sits with her hands between her knees, scratching away at some chipped nail polish on her thumb nail. "Finally remember I exist, Bella?" Her head shots up, she looks me straight in the eye, and then looks back down to her hands. Her teeth nibble away at her bottom lip.

"You have been on my mind all day," she mumbles, mostly to herself. "I came to see if you were okay."

I don't have anything to say to that, so I change the subject. "Where's Draco?"

"He's with Charlie."

This enrages me, "I'm not going to hurt him, you know. You don't have to keep him away from me."

"No… no, Edward, that isn't why I…" Admit it Bella, I caught onto you. "I just wanted him to be in a place where he is safe; he's still shaken up from yesterday and…"

"And you blame me for everything that happened so you're keeping him away as punishment."

"That isn't why I kept him at home."

"Oh cut the fucking bullshit, Bella. I saw the look you gave me yesterday. Just admit to it; you don't trust me with him anymore."

"I'm just… just…"

If I could, I would walk straight out of this room right now. "Just what? Spit it out!"

It seems as though I'm not the only one to explode. Bella tenses in her seat, and then, as she starts to speak, storms up from her seat and paces the room, back and forth in front of my bed. "I trusted you, Edward! I put all my trust in you to take Draco for the day and to look after him. But this happens! I knew something was wrong, I knew it! And then Charlie tells me that you've been in a car crash? Edward, how could you let that happen?"

_Bitch says what?_

_Low blow, Bella. _

"How fucking dare you assume that I would put my son in danger like that. Do you even know what happened? No, you fucking don't! So don't you _dare _accuse me of such bullshit."

"In that case, Edward, please enlighten me in what happened."

"It was dark, the roads were busy, I had every speck of attention on the road before me and Draco was sound asleep in the back. Then out of no-where, I car is coming straight towards me. I swerve onto incoming traffic, and if I hadn't found the energy in me to reverse we would have been discussing a _very _different matter right now. Do you honestly think that if I didn't care or never wanted to look after him, that I would have allowed some fucking retard to drive over my fucking leg? I am crippled for the next six months, so I think a 'thank you' is in order instead of the shit you just sprouted."

Man, that felt good.

I had rendered Bella speechless.

Sweet.

"Edward… I'm really sorry. I was so worried and I…"

I had had enough of this now. "Bella?"

She looks up at me, wide eyes flooded with tears. "Yeah?"

"Piss off."

"What?"

"Are you deaf? Piss. Off. You're not coming in here, complaining to me about trust issues, accusing me of getting Draco in a car crash and then wanting me to forget all about it when the water works start. I don't want anything to do with you right now. You know where the door is."

I pull the blanket further up my body and close my eyes; my only form of escape.

Yeah, Merry fucking Christmas to you too.

**xxx**

_**A/N- I love Charlie. Do you think Edward had been too harsh? Leave me your thoughts.**_

_**RosieRathbone**_

_**xx**_


	11. Danger! Danger! High Voltage!

**A/N—**_**Sorry For the wee delay we had with this chapter; I had lots of course work I needed to finish first. **_

_***IMPORTANT* The flashback that starts this chapter off is back to Emmett's birthday party IT WILL NOT BE A FULL ON LEMON! Only because I know that some of my readers don't care for that sort of thing; I'm a thoughtful bitch. The way Bella acts in this is like me when I'm drunk. Actually, this is like my own personal experience.**_

_**If you don't want to take a Science lesson and see how Draco had been made, you can skip past that bit – I'm not making you read it. **_

_Danger! Danger! High voltage!  
>When we touch, when we kiss,<br>when we touch._

_**Danger! High Voltage – Electric Six**_

_**Bella.**_

_**20 Months Ago.**_

I am amazing.

I think I need a Noble prize or some shit for accomplishing what I managed to accomplish.

Did, um, that guy… you know… the one who's, like, really famous… um… God; that's his name, did he get a Noble prize? 'Cause, I mean, if I should get one for my accomplishment – man, I sound so smart – then he should have gotten one too. Only fair, he did, like, create the world and all.

What? I can't get a Noble prize for this?

What about an Oscar?

No?

Golden Globe?

Shit, what is this world?

Not even, like, Best Supporting Actress?

What do you mean I didn't act?

Well… yeah, I guess I didn't act, but I put time and effort into this. As well as blood, sweat and tears.

Excuse me, the female half of Brangelina is winning, like, shit loads, I bet she couldn't do what I just did.

How dare you say such a thing! Putting on a pair of skin-tight, leather trousers is not as easy as it looks you know.

You need matchstick legs – which I do not have – but I managed it! I had successfully squeezed on a pair of pants that are really tight; it looked as if I painted my legs black.

I wanted to wear leggings, but Alice said it wouldn't have had the right effect. Only 'cause she dressed up as a whore!

Okay, not a whore, but Snow White is a saucy minx.

I'm at Emmett's twenty-first; the drinks are flowing like camel piss.

That thing that Edward made tasted like camel piss.

Not that I've tried camel piss.

But yeah, it tasted like camel piss.

Piss is one of those words that you want to say over, and over, and over, and over, and over… and over again.

_Piss._

_Pisssss._

_P-I-SSSSSSSSSSS_.

You catch my drift?

Talking about a piss, I need one.

Where do they keep the toilets in this place?

"Alice… Alice… Alice… _ALIIIIIICE." _

"Bella, are you okay?"

_Who said that?_

Ooh! It's the birthday boy!

"Emmett… I don't know what I was going to say."

"You seem to be a little drunk, Bella. Make sure my parents don't find out, okay?"

"I've… no. I'm not drunk. I'm enjoying myself."

"I'm not stopping you from enjoying yourself, but please stay off the drink."

"But the drinks are flowing like _pissssss. Ooh! _ I need a toilet."

That's what I was going to say.

"There is a bathroom up the stairs, turn left and it's –"

I staggered away, "the one with the toilet! Got it."

_Step, step, step, left foot, right foot, left foot, one, two, three, step, step, step._

_Wooah, I feel like I'm climbing a mountain!_

Emmett said it was the room on the left, so I took the first room that I saw on the left. Why not? It's on the left, isn't it? Yes; yes it is.

Well… this room is nice. It is large, and… large… and it has a bed!

But no toilet.

Hmm… seems like Emmett took me on a wild goose chase.

Wait, look! I see a bathroom. I bet there is a toilet in there…

I was just sitting there, doing my pee, when an angry voice came from the middle of no-where.

"What the fuck are you doing here?"

_God? Is that you?_

Oh, no, it was Edward – he was standing in front of me.

"I'm doing a pee."

Now, was that not obvious?

_Huhhh… jeez Edward._

"But who said you could do it in _my _bathroom?" I shrugged and mumbled some crap. "Anyway, I need to piss, so get off."

A cunning plan appeared right before me *_gasp* it must be a sign!_

I opened my legs and sat further back on the toilet seat. "Pee with me! Look! There is space for you to aim through!"

Edward ran his hands through his hair. "Jesus, Bella. How much have you had to drink?"

"Erm….I don't know." I stand up, pull up the ridiculously tight trousers and start towards the sink. I don't feel myself falling, but I must have done, or else Edward wouldn't have grabbed onto my arms. Either that or he wanted to touch my boobies. I think he wanted to touch ma girls.

"Woah, I think you should sit down and sober up a bit."

He then began to lead me from the bathroom and over to his bed. "Are… are you going to pee now?"

"Yes Bella; I'm going to pee."

I sat down on his bed and looked around but barely took anything in. I could only focus on my hands in front of my face… wait a second… oh, my God…

"EDWARD!"

The toilet flushed and Edward ran through, zipping up his fly as he did so. "What? What's wrong?"

I stared intently at my hand, "my fingers are wiggling…"

"Oh, for fuck sake."

_**xxx**_

I complained to Edward that he wasn't drunk enough. He brought out a large bottle of Jack Daniels that he had hidden in his room. Half way through the bottle, my head was lolling, I was falling to the side and my hand continuously slapped my face – Edward laughed when I did that, which made me laugh along with him.

Whenever I moved, my trousers slowly slipped down my butt. Urgh, they're like slippery eels. Ha! …_boring through your mind, through your tummy, through your anus. Eels!_

The Mighty Boosh quote there, bee-tee-double-u. Noel Fielding; enough said.

_Google it!_

No seriously, Google it.

"Bella… you keep…" Edward had a confused look on his face, "you keep talking…"

"So do you, Austin Powers."

"Mmmmmojo, baby, yeah!"

He actually was dressed as Austin Powers – blue suit, frilly shirt, black-rimmed glasses.

"Who are you meant to be?"

_Gasp. _Is it not obvious? The leather-eel-pants, chucks, striped t-shirt? "_Heeelloooo… _I'm Joan Jett!"

"Who?"

_Gasp again! _ "Member of The Runaways. I love rock and roll, put another dime in the jukebox baby?"

Instead of answering, Edward began to sing a little song about dimes. "A dime makes a nickel, a nickel makes a cent, a cent makes a dollar and a dollar makes a… _holla at ya, giiiiirl!"_

…_I'm scared._

Urgh, okay, okay, I cannot stand these trousers any more.

"Edward… have you seen girls' legs, before?"

"I've seen more than just the legs…"

"Good, 'cause these bad boys are coming off!"

Soon, I'm lying back on Edward's bed in just my t-shirt and skimpy underwear.

I have had more than enough to drink; Edward and I would look at each other and burst out laughing for no reason whatsoever.

"Hey, Edward."

"Mmmm….?"

"_Leeeeeets have some fun, this beat is sick, I wanna take a ride on your disco stick."_

"You do? It's a big one!"

Edward doesn't even know what he's saying.

"_Coooooome here rude boy, boy, can you get it up? Cooooome here rude boy, boy, is you big enough?"_

"Why don't you find out?"

"_Tonight I'mma let you be the captain. Tonight I'mma let you do your thing, yeah."_

Edward burst into a fit of giggles. He shot one arm into the air, pointing straight at the ceiling. "_IIIIIIIII …. LIKE BIG BUTTS AND I CA-NOT LIE! _Urgh, it's too warm in here._" _He then sat up – a little too quickly—stumbled around as he caught onto his balance and started to pull at his trousers.

"PUT YOUR BUTT AWAY" I screamed, lamely throwing a pillow in his direction.

He removed his trousers and then his jacket. He stood there, facing me, with his head dropped forward and one hand rubbing over his face and through his hair.

I rolled onto my front and giggled hysterically.

"What are you laughing at, you…. _fucker!" _

"You look like Tom Cruise in that movie he was in."

"That one movie where he played that guy?"

"Yeah, that's the one."

"I like that one…"

"Me too!" Oh, my goodness, we're, like, made for each other.

"Right, Bellllllllla, I think we need to finish this drink."

"Mr. Cullen, what a very good idea."

_**xxx**_

_Hehe. _"your nose is really smooth…" _Hehe, _my finger is stroking his nose.

"Boobies…"

"I have boobies…" I squeezed my chest-twins and giggled. "They're like little piles of dough. _Squelch squelch, squelch, squelch."_

"Lemeesee."

"What? Edward you're mummmmbling."

"Lemeesee your boobies."

He crawled up, over me and stared down at my face. "No! You're not seeing my girls."

He's still staring at me… "your lips are really smooth." The tip of his finger squashed down on my lips and then brushed over them. "…Bella?"

"What?"

"Have you ever kissed someone?"

I didn't want Edward to know how pathetic I am. Seventeen and never been kissed? He's going to laugh at me. So I cover my face and try to roll over. But he stops me and brings my hands away from my face. "Yes. Okay? Yes I have."

He'll believe me.

"I don't believe you."

…Damn.

"So?"

"So I'm going to change that."

"No you're not."

Edward cocks an eyebrow, "and why not?"

"Because we're drunk and you don't like me."

"I do like you, Bella." His face got lower and lower, "cooooome ooon. You know you want to…"

"One peck."

I'm going to regret this.

"That is all I'm asking for."

"Promise me."

"I promise."

He didn't stick to his promise.

_**xxx**_

My panties were pulled down my legs and thrown to the side to join my bra which already lay there. Edward planted a soft trail of kisses from my hips to my jaw. If I hadn't had practically my own body weight in alcohol, I would have certainly put a stop to this. But now, I couldn't. I couldn't find it in me to push him aside or to tell Edward that I felt uncomfortable.

So I continued to copy his movements and allowed him to do whatever he wanted.

Things had gone a little past the peck he had promised.

My hands drifted up the front of his shirt, started from the top, and unbuttoned my way down.

Soon, we had nothing stopping us from completing this… act. All of our clothes had been chucked onto the floor, and now we were as naked as the day we were born.

"Bella, if we don't stop now, we never will."

His words were the first to be spoken since this all started. "Don't."

_Where did that come from? Bella! Why did you say that?_

Next thing I know, he had nestled his way between my legs. The sober Bella inside of me began to freak out.

_Do not lose your virtue to him! C'mon, you're smarter than this!_

But Drunk Bella is flipping Sober Bella the finger and encouraging to Edward to get on with it.

I could feel every urge, racing through me like electricity.

Edward bent down to chastely kiss my lips.

Now, I'm no expert – seeing as five minutes ago, I was as innocent as a nun – but I always imagined intercourse taking a bit longer than two minutes. Seriously, it went: thrust, thrust, moan, thrust, exit.

I lay there like a limp noodle; Edward seemed to be buzzing off his recent accomplishment.

He rolled off of me and fell into a deep sleep.

_Don't worry, _I thought to myself, _no-one ever needs to find out._

_**xxx**_

_**Present Day**_

_**xxx**_

Why is finding a course that fits your daily life style so hard?

I need something which will allow me to get the qualifications that I need, to allow me to get the skills without having to go to a University, and one that won't take up too much of my day so I can take care of my son and study at the same time. For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to head to some far-off college, study teaching, and then start a new life. But now I don't have a clue. I don't regret having Draco at all, but I really wish Edward had wrapped it that night so we could have gone our separate ways the next morning and I would have children when I was good and ready. But I can't blame him for all of this. I'm just as guilty as he is.

Talking about my little man, his crying could be heard coming from upstairs. I left my laptop on the kitchen table and went up to my room. My curtains had been closed so the only light that seeped through was the one from the hall. Draco was standing up, holding tightly onto the bars of the crib. Draco is teething right now – he's already got two little top teeth, and each stage is far too irritating for him to handle.

"Hello my baby boy. Did you have a nice nap?" Still holding onto the bars, Draco lowered his bum down to the mattress and then stood up again. "Come on then." As I lifted him free, he dropped his arms down to his sides and rested his head upon my shoulder. I removed his jeans before he slept so to not discomfort him, after checking his diaper (it was still clean) I put them back on him, but changed his pirate t-shirt for a white one which had '_Don't look at me, Daddy made that smell' _written on the front – it had been a Christmas present from Emmett. Draco rubbed his flushed cheeks with a fist, I picked up his teething ring from a side table and gave it to him to bite on.

Charlie is busy watching some ice hockey game on TV. I put Draco down on the floor next to a pile of his toys and ran back to grab my laptop. We sit in our comfort for twenty or so minutes. Draco crawled over to me a couple times to show me something and did the same to Charlie too.

"I could do this course," I say to Charlie, reading off the computer screen, "I study at him but I go into college a couple days a week for an hour or two. But I would need to find a child minder for Draco."

"No you wouldn't."

"Yeah I would. I can't take him into a busy college, dad."

"You don't need to. You let him to see Edward for those days. It's not fair to keep him away like this."

"I'm not keeping him away!"

I hate how Charlie is taking his side in all of this. He should stick up for me. "Remind me, Bella, how many times has Edward seen Draco since the accident?" I stay silent. "Twice. Twice in one month, and why do I know that? Because I have been the one to drop him off."

"But he told me he wanted nothing to do with me."

"I doubt he really means that, and he was in a lot of pain at that point, but he didn't say he wanted nothing to do with Draco. Don't let your problems affect their relationship; you'll regret it later."

Dammit, he was right.

"Okay…"

The pointed look he gave me meant he was hinting on something. "There is no time like the present, Bells…"

He's right, but the whole ordeal makes me want to scream. I need to push my nervousness aside and put Draco first – I promised to give him everything that he wants and needs, this being a pivotal part. I have to bite every thought that is telling me this is a bad idea and get it over and done with. If I don't take the first step, I'll never go anywhere.

Draco had crawled back to my feet, this time raising his arms up for my attention. I pulled him up onto my lap. "Would you like to go and see Daddy?"

His eyes lit up and a massive grin crossed his face. "Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da."

"I think that's your answer, Bells."

_**xxx**_

Esme greeted us at the door with her usual cheery smile. "Bella! Draco, how lovely it is to see you."

"I hope you don't mind me popping by without any notice." I'm now thinking I should have rung before I came over…

"Oh, not at all; you're family – come over anytime you want." Esme allowed us inside and took Draco from me whilst I slipped off my jacket and shoes. She covered his face in little kisses and rubbed his tummy which made him giggle and squirm in her arms. Alice had recently moved to her college and stays there most of the time instead of travelling over daily which she used to do. It was weird being here without her.

"It must be strange without Alice."

"Oh it really is. Even with the kids the age they are now, they were always shouting at one another and acting like four-year-olds. It's so quiet. You'll know what I mean when it's Draco's turn to fly the nest."

I don't even want to think about. I never want him to grow up.

Right Bella, remember what you came here to do. "Um, I was wondering if I could have a quick chat with Edward?"

"I thought that was why you came here. He's up in his room, I'll look after Draco and you can take as long as you need."

"Thank you, I really appreciate it."

Esme told me how to get to his room, even though I could remember it all too clearly. This was be just a little bit awkward. I knocked on the door, biting back all my nerves and silently chanting that everything is going to be okay. He mumbled a 'come in', probably expecting Esme to walk through with a bundle of laundry. Ha-ha, think again.

"Can… I come in?" Edward was lying on his bed with a book lying out on his chest. He was wearing a red bath robe, boxers, and socks. That's it. The last time I came into this room, I got pregnant. And he's wearing _that? Now?_

"I said you could, didn't I?"

"Well I didn't know if… if you… if…" _stop talking out your ass, Bella and get on with it. _"How are you?"

Edward sighed, threw his book to one side and tied his robe tighter. "Breathing."

This is going well…

"How is the, er, the… your leg?"

_Because that had to be the first thing you said, didn't it._

"Fucking brilliant. Needing someone to assist you from A to B, barely able to take a piss, not being able to drive or go anywhere. What the fuck do you think? I feel like Lieutenant fucking Dan."

"It was just a question; I'm trying to make a conversation here!"

Using all of his strength, he scooted backwards to sit more comfortably on the bed and then leant to the left, reaching out for the handle of his wheelchair. "Oh, do you need some help?" I began to walk round, but his spiteful words stopped me.

"I don't need your fucking help."

I'm getting fed up with this now and I've only been here five minutes. I watched in silence as Edward pulled the chair over steadied it with his hands and heaved himself onto it. Luckily his other leg could offer a bit of support, but not much to make a difference. He wheeled over to where a jacket hung from a chair. Fishing around in the pockets, he retrieved a packet of cigarettes and a lighter.

"Should you really smoke when you're on medication?"

"Last I checked, you weren't my fucking doctor. So quit telling me what to do."

As he reached the balcony, he turned around to look at me. "I thought you wanted to talk."

"I do…"

"Then get over here – if I have to talk to you I'm going to need nicotine in my blood."

I lean up against the wall and wait for Edward to take a couple draws before beginning any sort of conversation. "What did you want to talk about?"

"I want to start an online course, and I'll have to go to college a couple times a week, so would it be okay if you took Draco when I do?"

"Oh you trust me with him now? "

"Edward I was scared, I wasn't thinking straight… I was…"

"Yeah, we've been through this before. I like how you had to ask me whether or not I would look after him; I thought it would have been obvious by now. But anyway, of course I will."

"Thank you…"

"Anything else you want to say?"

Edward had finished his cigarette, so we went back into his room, I spoke as I walked. "Um… I was talking to Charlie just before I came here, and he made me see that, for Draco's sake, we'll need to at least seem to be friends. We don't want our relationship with him to fall apart just because we can't get along. And if he sees us fighting, it's going to affect him; I never liked seeing my parents fight."

"Remember before he was born we had that conversation, where we decided that even if one of us messes up on something, the other won't take it seriously? We need to think about doing that. Bella, I'm all for what you just said, but we'll need to be able to talk before we can go any further."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry for taking this long to come and talk to you. It's his birthday in a couple of weeks, so we'll need to start organising a party, presents, that sort of thing."

"What with my lack of mobility, I've ordered some presents on line which should be arriving in a couple days, but I'm up for discussing it."

I don't know why, but it made me so happy to hear that – I knew he would have been buying presents, but… yeah, it still made my heart twang ever so slightly.

I clocked the time and remembered everything I had to do before Draco's bedtime. "I'll call you later to organise something, I better get going now. Um, he's just downstairs if you want to come and see him?"

Edward agreed without hesitation. I helped him up onto his crutches and assisted as best I could as he hobbled down the stairs. We found Esme and Draco in the kitchen. He was sitting on Esme's lap with pots of paint, large pieces of paper and some 'masterpieces' he had already finished on the table in front of them. Esme would squeeze some bright coloured paint into one of the pots and Draco would happily shove his hands into it and then rub them all over the paper.

"Look, who's that?" Esme pointed to us over his shoulder.

Draco squealed and bounced around, "ma-ma-mama."

"Good boy, it is mummy. And who's that?"

"Dada!"

As Esme wiped all the paint off his hands, I helped Edward to sit down. As soon as he could, Draco practically fell onto Edward's chest. I instantly felt bad about how little they have seen of each other, Draco clearly loves every second he has with his daddy.

"Did you have fun with Grandma?" Nothing could force Draco's arms from around Edward's neck; how did I not see how much he missed him?

I stood and watched the cutest interaction I had ever seen. Edward would make one facial expression and Draco would copy. He was being his mirror image. Leaning forward slightly, Edward pursed his lips and said: "gimme kisses?" Draco dropped his head, but leant forward also so Edward kissed his nose.

Seriously think my heart just broke.

_**xxx**_

_**A.N. I have a lot going on right now, so if it takes me a little longer than 2 weeks to get the next chapter up, then I'm dreadfully sorry. Forgive me?**_

_**What did you think? Review!  
>Rosie xx <strong>_


	12. Better Than I Know Myself

_**A/N- Draco's birthday will be left out, only because more important things are going to be occurring, but if you want the full thing, then just tell me and I might do a one shot for it :) **_

_**Disclaimer – I do not own 'Twilight', 'The Hungry Caterpillar' or anything else you recognise. **_

_Cause if I wanted to go I would have gone by now,  
>But I really need you near me to<br>Keep my mind off the edge  
>If I wanted to leave I would have left by now,<br>But you're the only one that knows me  
>Better than I know myself<em>

_**Better Than I Know Myself – Adam Lambert **_

_**Bella.**_

_**Draco – 18 months old.**_

"Where has Draco gone?" I was sitting on the carpet with my little boy sitting in front of me. He had pulled his blanket over his head to hide from me. "Draco...? Oh no! I've lost Draco." He pulled the blanket down quickly and smiled widely at me. "There you are!" He then hid from me again. "Oh he's gone again…" We played this game for an additional five minutes or so. Draco dropped the blanket to one side, stood up and walked to the couch and brought back one of the books that had been sitting there.

He handed it over to me with eager eyes. "Do you want to read it?"

"Book." He doesn't have a wide range of vocabulary, but he can say a handful of words confidently. Edward and I are trying our hardest to get him to say his own name, but it's slightly too hard for him at the moment.

"_The Hungry Caterpillar…" _Draco's eyes lit up, "_on Monday, he ate through one apple, but he was still hungry! On Tuesday he ate through two pears, but he was still hungry!" _as the story carried on, I would point out each item of fruit and count my way through them. Our favourite bit has always been the end when the caterpillar turns into a beautiful butterfly. Draco always flips the book back over and slaps it until I start reading it all over again.

My iPhone lights up beside us and Edward's personal ring tone starts to play. '_Heart Skips a Beat' _by Olly Murs is the song – Alice gets on at me saying the meaning to the song is why I chose it, but I shoot her down and say it's the tune that I like, not the lyrics… I think. No seriously, the British artist came up as a suggested video on YouTube; I gave it a listen and as soon as the song started to play Draco danced his little booty off. I thought it was a sign.

Like always, Draco began to bounce in my lap when he heard the song. In the past six months our relationship has come on leaps and bounds. Yeah we've had arguments, but they're never serious and they're normally forgotten about the next day. Now that I have this new iPhone, Draco and Edward use FaceTime daily – Draco doesn't understand what he's doing, but he likes the idea of seeing Daddy on the screen.

I put Edward onto speakerphone once I've accepted the call. "Keep your language down, you're on speaker." The last thing we need is for our boy to start saying 'fuck'.

"_Thank you._ _Hey buddy!"_

Draco didn't seem to be paying attention. I hand out my phone, "you going to say 'hello' to daddy?"

"Dada!"

"_Hey buddy, you okay?"_

"Dada!"

"I don't think you're going to be much out of him. Anyway, what's up?"

"_I was planning on going swimming as part of my physical therapy, and I thought we could take Draco and make a day of it. That is if you're free, of course." _

"Last time we went swimming he had a tantrum and we left five minutes later, but he'll probably last longer if you were there. He is a daddy's boy, after all."

"_Well, I don't want to boast…"_

"Shut up, Edward; he is. But anyway, I didn't have anything planned, so I'll take you up on that offer."

"_Sweet, how about we say –"_

"Dada!" Draco's shrill voice interrupted his sentence.

"_Hey buddy."_

"Mama!"

"_Are you having fun with mummy?"_

"We read a book didn't we, Draco?"

"_Did you read a book?"_

"Book."

I took over to hurry along this conversation. "How about I get our stuff together and we could be over in half an hour or so?"

"_That's fine with me, see you then."_

"Say 'bye-bye' to daddy?"

Instead of actually saying 'bye-bye', Draco waved, this made me laugh, "He's waving at the phone."

"_Ha-ha. I'm waving back."_

After we hung up, I put Draco down on two feet, held onto his hand and steered him out of the room and helped him climb the stairs up to our room. It's scary to see how much he's grown in this past year. He's climbing stairs when, not long ago, he couldn't even walk without something (or someone) to hold onto.

My little boy is growing up too fast. I don't like it.

_**xxx**_

_**4 months ago.**_

_**xxx**_

"Oh, Edward, stop moaning."

"I'm not moaning."

"And the Pope isn't religious."

For the last week, we've been trying to get Draco to take his first steps unaided. We were at the Cullen' house, in their large living room, and Edward had the expression which screamed '_I'm annoyed; life is shit'. _He has been sporting the same expression since we began this procedure. He's annoyed because he can't take Draco's first steps with him due to his broken leg.

"I want to be at his side when he's walking, but I have to sit here like a prat and miss it all."

I forget who the baby is sometimes. "How are you missing it? I'll be sitting here, you'll be sitting there and he'll walk from me to you."

"Yeah, but you'll be helping him walk before he gets to that point, and I can't do that."

"How about I go and get your wheelchair, you sit in that, hold his hands and I'll pull you back as he walks?"

I thought that sounded like a decent idea, but he clearly didn't. "Then I sound more disabled then I actually am."

"Jesus, I'm only trying to help."

We both watch in awe as Draco stands up, looks around and just as we think he's going to take a step, he lowers his bum and he's back to sitting down again. We didn't want to seem so persuasive that we scared him, but we had to encourage him just enough to get his feet moving.

After a good hour of the same standing up and sitting down routine, I changed our tactics. Edward sat forward in his seat with his hands out, ready to retrieve Draco. Taking his tiny hands in mine, I stepped backwards and when Draco took an unsure step forward, I took another back. His feet would wobble to the side and his knees would bend, but soon his steps were getting bigger and faster. With our smiles and praise, Draco would smile along with us and giggle. I moved to the side and let go of one of his hands.

Three steps before Edward, I completely let go. As Draco walked by himself, into his father's open arms, I felt myself welling up inside. The whole room erupted into cheers and applause.

We did it again and again, each time I stepped away further and further back. Tears of joy filled my eyes when Draco managed to stand up and waddle off all on his own. Of course he never went anywhere far and he fell on his behind more often than not, but that never stopped him.

_**xxx**_

_**Present Day**_

_**xxx**_

Edward is now completely cast free, but his problems were far from over. He can't drive, he can walk but with a terrible limp, and can't carry a large weight – meaning he can't carry Draco around or stand and hold him – and after a while he has to resort back to crutches to relieve some of the pain. But keeping up with his physical therapy is doing wonders, so it shouldn't be too much longer before he's back to his normal self.

I had parked my truck in front of the Cullen house, Draco's favourite ABC CD playing on repeat. When I saw the front door open and Edward hobble out, and jumped outside to lend a hand. I took his bag, opened the door to make it easier for him to step in. Draco kicked his legs wildly and squealed, "A-dada!"

"Hey baby boy!"

"Are you going to show daddy your new shoes?" I asked when I got back into my side, pointing down to Draco's feet. After a bit of persuasion, Draco flung his right leg up (nearly kicking Edward in the face) and dangled it over the side of his car seat. His shoes are blue, striped deck shoes with a colourful red and yellow sole.

"Wow, I like your shoes!"

"Mine!"

"Are they yours? Can I wear them?" It looked as though Draco nodded to Edward's question. "I think my feet are a bit too big." Draco squealed and mumbled some gibberish, pushing his foot into Edward's hand. "I can't fit your shoes, buddy."

I laughed and let them carry on with their conversation, put the truck into drive and began our journey to the swimming baths. It wasn't far from Edward's house, so they were still interacting with each other when I parked up in front of the Aquatic Centre. Draco was adamant about walking; he refused me carrying him on my side. I held his hand securely, locked up my truck and followed Edward towards the entrance. When we walked through the parking lot, I continued to remind Draco about looking left and right before crossing a road.

After checking in at reception, it seemed Draco didn't want Edward to go anywhere. "I'm going to get changed, and you and mummy get changed. I'll see you in the pool, buddy."

"Nnnnno. No dada."

I knew that if I didn't step in, we would be standing out here for ages. "Let's have a race, yeah? Shall we beat daddy?" Just from my smile alone, Draco soon perked up and smiled as well. "Let's go!"

The female changing rooms were empty apart from a lady brushing back her wet hair. I took one of the baby changing cubicles and set all my stuff on the bench. Removing Draco's used diaper, I slipped on a 'Little Swimmer' diaper and then some blue shorts with fish dotted about them. He was free to roam the floor as I slipped off my clothes, revealing my bikini underneath. My bikini is navy blue with a line of white and a line of polka dots on the top of the bust, with three white buttons down the middle and a halter neck strap. If I had had more notice, I probably would have bought a cheap one-piece, but not much I can do now. And anyway, my girls aren't exactly the sort you would ogle over. Even having my baby they didn't improve in size much.

I blew up the rubber ring, shoved all of our belongings into a bag, took Draco's hand and lead him over to a wall of lockers. "You ready?" Draco reached up to me and urged for me to pick him up. "Come on then."

Edward was already swimming lengths when we walked through, I don't think he noticed us until he finished a length, stood up straight and pushed his hair back from his face. I'm not going to lie; a top-less Edward, dripping wet, tickled my fancy. He's no Daniel Craig, but hot damn; it was nice to look at. You'd have to be blind not to notice the attraction. He waded over to the steps and caught the rubber ring when I flung it over. As I lowered us into the water, Draco clutched onto one of the bikini cups. _Do not pop out, do not pop out, do not pop out. _He seemed to ease down when we were both settled in the water. I moved from my side and onto my chest, as he felt the water further up his back, he squirmed around and tried to climb up my front.

"Mama…" He whined, clearly freaked out from the deep water below him. "Mama, mama, mama." His little legs kicked like crazy and his arms looped around my neck.

"You're alright sweetheart, I've got you." He hid his head in my chest and I kissed his crown sweetly. "Don't be scared. Look, daddy is here too. Do you want to go to daddy?"

Edward put his hands under Draco's arms and brought him to his chest. "My big boy isn't afraid of water, is he?" He began to bounce, lowering Draco into slightly each time. But he misjudged the water level accidently and Draco was completely submerged for a split second. Edward straightened up suddenly with guilt written all over his face. Draco spluttered and coughed with his eyes shut tight, he then started to cry loudly. "Oh buddy, I'm so sorry." Edward tried everything he could to calm down his son, but nothing seemed to work.

"Mama…"

"He wants his mummy, "I jokingly smirked at Edward. Bringing my boy into my embrace, I soon soothed down his crying. "Was daddy mean to you? Do we need to teach him a lesson?" I put him back on my side, "shall we splash him?" I swooped my arm forward which caused a small wave of water to smack Edward in the face. I continued to do so as Draco started to laugh, he smacked his tiny palms against the water to join in. "Splash him, Draco, splash him." I adjusted the way I held him so that he could use both hands in the sabotage. There is no better sound than the sound of his giggles as he gets revenge on his dad. I would happily record it and set it as my ring tone on my phone.

After the splash fight, I attempted to put Draco in his ring. Edward held onto the sides and I slotted his legs through the leg holes. It had a little seat for his bum. Draco tried his best to wriggle out, but I didn't want this fear of water to become a phobia later on in life, so I stuck to my plan and made sure he stayed in it. I held onto the sides, took little steps backwards and began to show him how fun the water could be. I pulled and pushed from side to side and backwards and forwards. A smile appeared on his lips after a while.

"Can I try something?" asked Edward.

"Sure."

"Right, stand to the side a sec."

Edward pushed the water in front of Draco and the ring bobbed on the surface like a little boat. I had the vision of the ring tipping over, but I calmed down when I noticed how much Draco was enjoying it. His hand smacked the water again and his happy squeals were his way in asking for more. We played this game for a little while, and then moved onto other things. Edward would take him from the ring and throw him into the air and catching him just as he entered the water. I was not a fan of that game, but they were having fun, that's the main thing.

We decided to stay another twenty minutes and then get out. Edward took those twenty minutes to swim some lengths and I carried on playing with Draco. I wanted to see whether Draco would jump into my arms. I lifted him up onto the side, took a step back, opened out my arms and urged him to jump.

"Come on, baby boy. Jump to mummy. One, two, three, jump!" Draco looked at the water warily. I moved forward and inch which allowed him to take my hands if he wanted to, but after a bit more persuasion, he fell forwards, straight into my arms. "Yay! Well done; mummy is very proud of you."

I could tell by Draco's expression that he was getting tired. I caught Edward as he came up for air and told him that we were going to get changed and that we'd meet him outside.

"Bye dada!"

"Bye buddy! See you in a minute."

Like before, I got Draco dried and dressed before myself. Apparently the sweater I tried putting on him was wrong and the worst thing I could have ever done. Draco grabbed it in his fist and threw it to the damp ground. "No!" I didn't even bother fighting him over it, so left him to bounce around as I got dressed and rung out our wet swim wear. He clearly hated this sweater, because he had continued to put it in every puddle he could see.

I threw it in the bag of wet clothes with a sigh.

You can't please everyone.

Draco is tired and when he's tired he gets grouchy, and when he's grouchy you want to get him home, fed, bathed and into bed as fast as you can.

As I searched my bag for my keys, I made a huge mistake in taking out his blue pacifier and leaving it in his view. Edward and I have decided to start weaning him off of it now before the problem gets out of hand. Apart from his nap earlier on, he hadn't had it at all today, except for now. He grabbed the pacifier and shoved it in his mouth. I never knew he could move that fast. He used to have three, which we've reduced down to one. Before too long the 'pacifier fairy' is going to make a visit and take that one away too. Personally, I blame Edward for the whole thing – he had one as a baby which obviously meant Draco had to have one too - s_arcasm._

_**xxx**_

There's a small café off to the side of the reception desk, which I planned on steering Draco away from; he can smell candy like a pro. "A-dada?" Draco mumbled around his pacifier, pointing off into the distance whilst looking at me with wide eyes. I looked over to where he was pointing and saw that Edward had taken one of the seats in the café.

"Go to daddy," Draco walked eagerly over to Edward with his arms open for a cuddle. I followed on behind, setting my bags down on the spare seat. He picked his son up and sat him on his right knee.

"What's this?" Edward took the handle of the pacifier between his thumb and forefinger and wiggled it a bit. "Only babies use one of these; you're not a baby." He popped it out and held it in his hand far enough away so that Draco couldn't get it.

"Mine!"

"Draco," Edward wasn't getting the attention he was after; our son had a scowl on his face. "Draco, look at me."

"No!"

I don't know why Edward was so determined to get a reaction out of him; Draco was shattered, I needed to get him to bed.

"Edward just leave it, I need to take him home." I swooped Draco into my arms, and instantly he nestled against my chest with his tired little head lying on my shoulder. I looped my arm through the handle of the bags, made sure Edward was good to go, and headed out to my truck.

As we were driving home, I went through the list of everything that needed to be done when I got home. From just looking at Draco, you could tell that he was about to nod off, and I didn't want him to sleep before he goes to bed. So I asked Edward whether he would want to stay for dinner. That way, I could make the dinner whilst Edward bathes him and then he'll be in bed a lot earlier.

"Yeah, I'll love to. Thank you."

"Just to warn you though… he doesn't like taking a bath."

Good luck.

**Edward.**

"The bathroom is straight down the hall, you'll find everything you need in there." Bella stood Draco down as she walked through the front door. He instantly plodded over to a pile of toys, sat down and began to play. "He won't budge if he gets too involved." Bella shot me a knowing smile – I had to get my butt into action and start the dreaded bath time.

I pulled a seat over to where he was playing and sat down on it. "Hey buddy," Draco turned his head to look at me and stuck out an arm. In his grasp he had a little red ball. I took his ball from him, like he wanted me to. "Oh, thank you."

"Baaaaall."

Oh, he's so smart! "Well done, it is a ball. Can you say 'red ball'?"

Draco stared at me like I had three heads. "…ball."

That's good enough for me.

"Right, are we going to have a bath now?" He was too busy slotting shapes into a box to listen to me. "Come on, buddy." I don't want to be a strict parent, but I'm going to let him get away with ignoring us. That's just rude. I put my hands under his arms, and lifted him up – ignoring the slight pain in my left leg.

"_Nooo_! No! No dada!"

"We need to have a bath, and then we can play with the balls." Taking him by the hand, I managed to get him to the stairs, but then Draco spotted Bella in the kitchen.

"Mamaaaa!"

"Mummy is making dinner. Let's go and have a bath, buddy."

"Mamaaaa!"

Fuck the pain; I need to get him up stairs. Draco kicked and pushed and cried his eyes out, but we made it to the bathroom. I locked the door so he couldn't escape and started running the bath. I made up a little song and dance whilst undressing him, hoping to make him smile again – it worked.

"One… two… three…" I sat his naked little self in the bath tub. Draco whined at first, squirming around and looking as though the water was going to eat him up. "Look, Draco, it's fun." Like before in the pool, I had to splash the water and help him see that he has nothing to worry about. I squirted some soap onto his mitt – it is pink and in the shape of a pig. "Arms up." I put my arms up to show him what to do. Draco copied my movements and I washed his arms and his tummy. "Good boy."

A bag of toys were sitting on the side of the bath tub. I took out the plastic dolphin and Draco took the duck. I have the same sort of thing at home, so I knew what to do with them. Draco shoved it under water and squeezed tightly with two hands – the water squirted out of the ducks mouth, making Draco giggle and shake in excitement. I filled up the dolphin and poured the water over his tummy.

It's moments like these when I question myself why I ever doubted becoming a parent at all. I know I was young and stupid at the time, but I hate myself for saying that I wanted nothing to do with him when I first found out. I would have missed these bath times; taking him swimming and watching him grow. I don't know for sure yet if I want more children in the future – just having Draco is more than enough – but if I do, I know for certain, right now, I will put everything I have into bringing them up the correct way.

_**xxx**_

I dressed Draco in his _Go Diego Go _pyjamas, and then took him back downstairs to where Bella had some spaghetti bolognaise waiting for us. She had chopped up Draco's into suitable size bites and put it into a yellow bowl along with his favourite fork.

One thing had been running through my mind all day. Well, two, if you count Bella in that sinful bikini – if we hadn't been with our son, I would have attempted some sly attacks to push her under the water and get her… erm… wet. But no, I did have something I wanted to run by her.

"Bella, can I talk to you when he's in bed?"

Bella took a sip from her drink; she looked at me over the glass with crossed brows. "Yeah of course, you don't need to ask me."

"Okay good, I just wanted to make sure."

Charlie came home from work just as we were finishing off, he greeted us all and told Bella something about how two guys were about come over to watch 'The Game'. Bella said it was fine and she would make some more spaghetti for them.

_You can make some more for me too, if you want. That was fucking amazing._

A clatter broke me away from my thoughts. I looked at Draco out of instinct; he was peering over the side of his high chair, looking at the pot of yoghurt and spoon he had pushed off. A line of white yoghurt splattered on the floor some reaching the edge of my shoe.

"Uh oh."

Bella and I looked at each other in shock. "Did he just say 'uh oh'?"

"I… I think he did…"

She crouched down next to the high chair and stroked Draco's cheek with a hooked finger. "My clever boy," she cooed, ruffling his hair and kissing his forehead. It was lovely to see how affectionate she is towards him.

Bella cleaned up the yoghurt spillage and I cleared the table and made up Draco's bedtime bottle. The front door then opened and in wheeled some old-ish man with long black hair and a weird fucking hat, behind him a younger version of him – minus the hat, and clearly over six foot tall.

"Bella!" The younger one shouted, storming over to her and bringing her into a tight hug. Part of me wanted to tear the fucker away from her and chuck him out the house. But he'll probably kill me with one punch.

"Hey Jake, how are you?" Bella, being the kind-hearted soul that she is, went to kiss him on the cheek, but that fucking dick head turned his head and planted a smacker right on her lips.

_I'll plant a smacker on him with my fists in a minute…_

_Wait, where is this coming from? He could be her fucking boyfriend for all you know._

_I tell you now, he better not be…_

I had Draco's bottle in my hand and went to take him from the high chair. But that fucker – _Jake – _beat me too it. He took _my son _out of the high chair and held him high in the air.

"Here's my favourite boy! Say hello to your Uncle Jake!"

_The fuck? _

Dick Head saw me after he brought Draco back down; he held his hand out for me to shake. "You alright mate, I'm Jacob."

"Edward." I spat out with venom.

"Were you going to give him a bottle? It's alright mate, I've got it."

First, I'm not your fucking mate. Secondly, he is my son.

"No, I'm fine."

"Dada."

Thank you, Draco.

See Dick Head, he asked for me, not you.

So suck it.

"Come on, baby boy." Bella took Draco from Dick Head…_take him far away… _I went with her through to the living room where Charlie and Old Man Wheels were chatting like two old women. Bella greeted Old Man Wheels with a hug. I sort of stood behind them like a third wheel. What made the situation even worse was that Dick Head came in with a packet of biscuits in his hand.

_This isn't your house, that isn't your food!_

The hell have his manners gone?

_But if he's Bella's boyfriend he probably lives here anyway._

_Fuck. Off. Now._

Draco was passed over to me once I had taken a seat and got prepared. He sat sideways on my lap with his head resting against my chest and my arms wrapped around him securely. He held the bottle by himself until he started nodding off to sleep, and I took over. Seeing as everyone else was in their own conversation, I decided to take Draco up to bed. Bella kissed his cheeks and whispered she loved him, and then made sure I was okay to take him upstairs. But I said I could manage.

_You don't want to see weak in front of Dick Head._

_SHUT. UP._

_**xxx**_

Once Draco is safely snuggled up in bed, I headed back down stairs ready for my conversation with Bella like we had planned. I was turning to go into the living room, but a girly giggle coming from the kitchen stopped me. The second I walked in, I wanted to walk out again – kicking Dick Head in the balls before I left.

Bella was standing at the sink, washing some ports and pans, and Dick Head was standing right behind her, leaning into her back, hands on her hips and chin sitting on her shoulder.

Why is this infuriating me as much as it does?

What Bella does with her boyfriend has got nothing to do with me.

_Admit it, the idea of someone else touching her makes you mad, doesn't it._

No it doesn't.

_Yes it does._

_You're jealous that it's not you._

_And you don't like how he's worming his way into Draco's life as well._

Okay, fine! For fuck sake, yes! Okay? Yes, I'm fucking jealous.

The fighting with my inner-thoughts made me punch down on the wooden table. Bella and Dick Head jumped apart like they had been caught humping like rabbits.

I had to get out of here.

"Edward, um, is he asleep?"

"Yeah he's fine. I think I'm gonna head now, thanks for dinner."

"What about our chat?"

"It's nothing special, we can do it later."

"Oh, okay then…" I didn't miss how her face fell slightly. And I'm not going to lie and say it didn't affect me inside. "I'll just grab my keys."

"No it's fine; I'll ring someone at home. I don't want to interrupt anything."

"You're not interrupting anything. I don't mind driving you back."

I agreed, only so that I didn't have to see her fallen face again. "Right fine."

It wasn't long before we were in the truck and heading through town. No-one had spoken a word.

Suddenly an angry sigh came from Bella, who indicated left and pulled the car over to the side of the road. "Are you going to tell me what's bitten your balls, or do I have to find out myself?"

"I'm fine."

"If you're 'fine', then I'm the Virgin Mary. Everything seemed to change as soon as Billy and Jacob arrived – what did they do wrong?" I didn't say anything. "For God's sake, Edward. One thing that we never do is talk. We keep our problems bottles up instead of out in the open. So let's talk; tell me what's wrong."

The longer I kept quiet, the worse things will become. "Look, whatever you do with your boyfriend has got nothing to do with me -."

"—Boyfriend? What are you on ab-."

"—I just don't like how he's worming his way into Draco's life like a motherfucker."

"Hey! Jake is not a motherfucker!"

"Okay, I'm sorry for bad-mouthing your boyfriend, but -."

"Oh, my God, will you stop? Jake is not my boyfriend!"

"Don't lie, Bella."

"I'm not lying!"

"So what was all that in the kitchen? You seemed pretty comfortable back then."

Bella ran her hands roughly through her hair and gripped on tight. "He's one of my closest friends, he's been there for me through everything, just because we act that way doesn't mean anything."

"No, of course it doesn't." I replied sarcastically.

"Urgh, Edward!" I turned around to look at her, and just as I muttered the word 'what', Bella took my face in her hands and pulled me forward roughly, her lips smashed against mine in an instant. I had no idea what was going on for the tiniest millisecond, but our lips soon worked together, pulling at each other perfectly for five seconds.

"I wouldn't ever do that with him."

"Thank fuck." I whispered in the now tense atmosphere.

"Do you really have to go home now?"

"No."

"Good, because I'm not finished."

_**xxx**_

_**A/N – I'm just going to sit here and wait for your responses… ;) Review?  
>RosieRathbone xx <strong>_


	13. I'm Still A Guy

_You're probably thinkin' that you're gonna change me,  
>In some ways, well, maybe you might,<br>Scrub me down, dress me up,  
>Oh, but not matter what, remember, I'm still a guy.<em>

_**I'm Still A Guy – Brad Paisley.**_

_**Bella.**_

"_She's crazy like a fool, what about it Daddy Cool…"_

*kiss* "I need to…" *kiss* "get that…" *kiss*

"No you don't." *kiss* "Just leave it."

"_Daddy, Daddy Cool. Daddy, Daddy Cool."_

"No, I do. It's Charlie."

I broke away from Edward's grasp; only to find out I had straddled his lap some time during our increasingly intimate kisses. And the occasional boob grope. I slipped my iPhone out of the front of my jeans and accepted the call before he could hang up. I sat back from Edward, but that never stopped him. He leant forward and dropped soft kisses on the arch of my neck.

"Sorry dad, I was… er… driving and had to… um…pullover."

_Smooth, Bella. He'll never suspect a thing._

"_Okay, well I thought it would be best to say that Draco has been crying since you left. I've left him to self soothe, but it isn't working."_

I love my son, but did he have to do that right now?

"Not a problem. I'll be back as soon as I can." The second I've hung up and thrown my phone to the side, Edward decided to get back to where we left off. I pushed back on his face and turned my head to the side so he couldn't charm me with his devilish looks and lips. "No… No, I need to go home… Edward, stop."

"Five more minutes…" he whispered.

"Stop thinking with your dick; we need to get going."

"But if it wasn't for my dick, we wouldn't be in this situation. So I think it deserves a thank you. However which way you wish to… thank it." He smirked and raised his left eyebrow.

"You dirty bastard."

"Tut tut, Bella Swan, you speak to your mother with that mouth?"

"They are baby words compared to yours, Mr. Cullen." I whispered against his lips, pressing a soft kiss there and leaning back so we couldn't get any further.

"You little tease. And here I sit, thinking you had to be on your way…"

"I do, I do." I slipped from his lap and back onto my seat – I couldn't waste any more time. Charlie will have some serious questions waiting for me and right now, I don't have a clue how to answer them. I didn't waste any more time parked on the side of the road and drove to Edward's in record speed.

"What are you doing tomorrow?" He asked before opening the door.

"Food shopping, course work and we still need to have that chat."

"Then I'll be at your house by nine."

"What?"

"All shall be explained in the morning. See you then, Ms. Swan."

"Um… okay…bye…"

Within fifteen minutes, I was home and on my way up to see what was wrong with Draco. I jumped out my skin when I saw his attempts to climb out of his cot. He had one leg draped over the front, and his hands were holding onto the side bars with a death grip. How the hell he got up there, I will never know. All I knew was that if I hadn't come home when I did, he could have been seriously injured. I brought him into my embrace and only then did I breathe a sigh of relief.

His cheeks were bright red from crying, his eyes watery and his hair had flattened to one side of his face; the other side stuck up in a tangle. "Baby boy, what's wrong?" I bounced him gently and patted his back to sooth his crying. A few short minutes later, his crying had reduced down to sniffles. I didn't say anything, I just remained where I sat, continuously patting his back and cuddling him till he fell back to sleep.

Once he had been put back into the crib, with a blanket over his legs, I twisted the dial on the baby soother; a sweet lullaby began to play and lights were casted onto the opposite wall. I couldn't say for certain of course, but perhaps Edward forgot to turn this on last time – Draco doesn't tend to wake up and if he does, this helps him back to sleep.

I left my door open enough so I could hear if he woke up again and went back to join the guys downstairs. They were so involved in their game that they didn't notice me walk in, saying hello, and then walk out again. I backed into the kitchen to continue washing up, prepared some watermelon for Draco's breakfast and then fired up my laptop to continue with the essay I had still to complete. I had the copy of '_A Midsummer Night's Dream'_ and my pad of paper next to me. The paper had more of Draco's pencil scribbles in it than my own.

Someway through describing Helena's love life, I felt my eyes begin to close. It's a rare moment for me to stay awake longer than nine o'clock nowadays. Even with the help from Charlie and Edward, Draco still manages to drain all the energy from my body. I decided to call it a day, closed up my books, saved my work and hid it all out of Draco's sight, in case he goes searching without me noticing. I took a glass of water with me, saying goodnight to everyone in the living room as I passed.

I had a shower – only so I don't need one first thing in the morning – and kissed Draco goodnight once I had changed into my pyjamas. Switched the lights off, turned on the blue night-light by the door and then fell straight into the comfort of my bed.

_Goodnight, world._

_**xxx**_

I woke up to three different things. The wailing of my son, my phone ringing and a headache that felt like someone was hammering against my skull. What a beautiful morning…

'_My heart skips, skips, skips, skips, skips, skips a beat.'_

"Maaaaama! Maaaama!"

'_I can see you're not yourself, even when you're here with me.'_

"_Maaaamaaaaaaa!_

"I'm coming, baby boy." I quickly answer my phone and tell Edward I'll be two seconds, then got out of bed and went to take Draco from his crib. He wrapped his podgy arms around my neck and put his head on my shoulder, nearly going back to sleep from the comfort. "Good morning." I heard his faint yawn and felt him squirm against me. When I lay back on my bed, Draco never budged and stayed exactly where he was. I took my phone and apologised for my little delay.

"_It's alright. I was just making sure you're still okay for me to come over at nine."_

"Yeah, er, what time is it now?"

"_It's just gone eight-fifteen. So I was going to have a smoke then head over."_

"Not a problem. I better get up and get this little man dressed, just come over when you're ready."

"_Will do, see you then."_

Draco and I cuddle for a few more minutes and then it's time to get up. Ignoring the banging in my head, I change his diaper and put him into a pair of jeans, a _Batman _t-shirt (grey with the logo on the chest) some white socks and black Converse. Funny thing is, before, I never wanted to put Converse on my children because I didn't like the idea of squashing their feet into them, but now, I don't worry about it and don't even know why I did.

With Draco sitting on the edge of my bed, I brush out the tangles in his hair and tickle his tummy. "High five?" His fingertips slap my palm, "good boy! C'mon then." I let him play about my floor with his favourite teddy bear as I get dressed into some black leggings, a jean skirt and a grey t-shirt with Kermit the Frog on the front. I pull my hair into a messy pony tail and clip back my fringe with a kirby.

Once we're downstairs, Draco fights me over being put in his high chair. He wanted to play with his toy box, but I had to feed him his breakfast so we could start the day off quicker. In the end, I took the pot of watermelon from the fridge, made myself a cup of herbal tea and sat down on the couch, putting the watermelon next to Draco so he could eat as he played. I had taken some pain killers, but they didn't seem to work.

"Mama?"

"Yes, little man?"

"Mama?"

"What is it?"

Draco threw a ball into the air and it hit him lightly on the head when it came back down. "Aaaaaaaaaa." Draco smiled, shaking his knees and tapping his head where the ball had hit.

"Wow, can you do that again?" instead of throwing the ball up the way, he chucked it to the floor and watched it bounce along the carpet. "Good job!" The rat-a-tat-tat knocking interrupted our playing. I answered the door with a hint of hesitation – How would Edward act after last night? Is it going to be one of those times where it happened, but you don't ever discuss it again? Or is he going to be hoping for the flirting to continue? And what do I want? Sure, he knows how to kiss… but that doesn't mean I want it to happen again. I'll just play it by ear; the safer way of doing things.

We greeted each other with a 'hello, how are you?' Edward found out about my headache and tried his best to force me back upstairs so I could have a nap. But I'm a stubborn person; I won't run and hide from the world because of a headache.

"Right, but if it gets worse through the day, you're going for a nap – no arguments." Shame he's as stubborn as me.

"Okay. Sorry dad." I respond sarcastically.

I start to head back into the living room, but Edward pulls on my hand. "Hey, I think you're forgetting something." He raised his eyebrows and licked the middle of his top lip. This answered my previous questions - looks as though he still felt the same as he did last night. Looks as though? It's crystal clear! I just went for it, brushed away my feelings, stood on my tip-toes and gave his lips a chaste kiss. "Much better," he whispered, slyly stealing another.

We sat down, watching Draco push four cars along the floor and clapped when they bashed into each other - _Road rage, anyone? – _He went to Edward and gave him a car, then went to me and gave me one and went back to Edward, stole his car, and gave it to me as well. Draco played this 'pass the car' game as Edward and I talked.

"What I've wanted to say is that I've… kind of… bought a house…"

I looked at him skeptically. "What do you mean you've kind of bought a house?"

"It's actually an apartment, and I wanted to get my own place so… I have."

It shocked me that he had the money to just go out and buy one like it was a loaf of bread. But I'm not one to judge; people can spend their earnings on whatever they wish. "Fair enough. What has this got to do with me?" Call me stupid, I didn't exactly think before I spoke.

"Well it has three bedrooms, and seeing how quickly Draco is growing, I thought it would be better if he had more space to run around –"

"—He has plenty of space here!" I don't approve of people telling me my house is too small. It might be small, but it's big enough to fit those that live here.

"Oh, no, Bella that isn't what I mean. I'm sorry. I mean it might be best if he had his own bedroom."

"In that case, it would be lovely for the nights he is with you."

"I mean permanently."

Ah. Now that does cause a problem. "I… I don't know… I just… I think… maybe…"

"I don't mean taking him away from you."

"Then what do you mean?" I'm very confused right now.

"They'll be an extra bedroom… and I thought you could take it…"

"You mean… we move in with you?"

Shit, this is getting awkward.

"Yeah…but more like roommates."

"I'll have to think about it, okay?"

Edward's fallen expression didn't go unnoticed. I felt guilty – I didn't mean to be offensive. But I can't accept something like that without thinking it over first.

"It's okay, I shouldn't have said anything."

Bollocks, now I feel really guilty.

I leant forward, taking his hand in mine. "I didn't mean it in that way. I just have to think about it before making a decision. Please, don't be torn up over it."

He said he wouldn't, but something by the way he said it and the look he gave made me think he was lying.

_**xxx**_

Our shopping trip to Target had been a success. I stocked up the kitchen cupboard, bought Draco a few new t-shirts and Edward treated him to a push car which he can both sit on and ride himself, or we can push him on it with the handle. Draco usually causes a hassle when we go shopping – he hates sitting in the cart and unless I have something for him to nibble on, he'll be crying from the moment we leave the truck to the moment he gets back in. But this time, Edward kept him plenty occupied with silly faces and playing funny games to make him laugh.

When we got home, I made us a quick lunch and then put Draco down for his nap. He cried for us, but it didn't last long and he fell asleep soon after. I cuddled up on the couch with my blanket; my headache had gotten worse during the morning, so I couldn't face staring at a computer screen or attempting to write an essay. Edward popped out for a cigarette; he offered to get me a glass of water and some pain killers before he went out. He's too cute sometimes.

Lying sideways on the couch hadn't done me any justice. It was like that one and only time I have been drunk; whenever I closed my eyes it felt like I was on a swing. The nausea bubbled in my stomach, I opened my eyes and the nausea went away. I rubbed my forehead, groaning out of discomfort.

"Go to bed, Bella."

"No, I'm fine."

"You're not fine. Stop being a stubborn little bitch and go to bed."

I could fight for my case, but I knew I would lose.

I went to bed.

I ignored every urge that told me to fight the pain.

One thing I did not ignore, is the comfort my bed brings whenever I arrive.

_**Edward**_

"Did you have a nice nap, buddy?"

Draco stared at me with wide eyes, he always had that same confused expression after a nap – it's awfully cute.

"Mama?"

"Mummy's in bed, buddy. We're going to have some fun, just you and me, okay?"

"No!"

"No? Do you not want to do some drawing with daddy?"

"No!"

"Erm…I know, we could make something to make mummy feel better. Shall we do that?"

"Mama!"

"What shall we do then? How about… we make some cookies."

"Eessss."

I don't know if that means 'yes', or if he's just mumbling. But I took the former. "Yeah?"

"Eesss."

Baking it is then.

_Edward, remember that time you set the toaster on fire? Yeah? Good luck making cookies then._

_**xxx**_

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4… which one's gas mark 4?

_Fuck._

I'm not very good at this…

I measure out the sugar and butter, put them all into a bowl and mixed them together. It said to 'cream' them, but fuck knows what that means. Oh shit, it also requires brown sugar. I could just add more of the caster sugar, right?

Apparently Draco doesn't like to bake. I had given him the bowl full of ingredients, and instead of mixing them together, he decided to pour them over the kitchen table. I would have felt bad for wasting Bella's food if I didn't carry on making these sodding things.

Now it was time to add the flour. Is there a difference between self-raising and plain flour? Bollocks. There's only one person I can ask.

"_Hello?"_

"Hey mum, it's me. Listen; is there a difference between self-raising and plain flour?"

"_It depends what you're making, dear."_

"I'm making cookies and it's a recipe Bella had written down and she only put 'flour'."

"_Then you need to use plain."_

"Right, 'kay, thanks, bye."

The mixture didn't look too smooth to me… but the lumps of butter will melt in the oven, right? Shit… this was such a bad idea.

_**xxx**_

The cookies were sort of… dropped onto the tray and thrown into the oven. Ten to fifteen minutes and they'll be done. Draco had now had enough with the scribbling on a piece of paper, he was let down to play with his new push car. I needed to show him how it worked, but he soon got the hang of things.

"Dada!"

"Yes, buddy?"

"Baaaall."

"Where's the ball gone?" Draco stood up and went to the other side of the room to collect his green plastic ball. "Throw it here." I clapped twice and opened my hands out. He held the ball in his right hand, stuck his arm out, pulled it back and spun in a one-hundred-and-eighty degree turn before he let it fire. The ball, instead of coming across to me on the couch, smacked off the side window and flew straight past my face and rolled to the back of the room. I could only laugh at my son's attempt at throwing, and he joined me in the laughing – even though he didn't know what we were laughing at.

"Edward? Is something burning?"

_Fuck! _"Oh, shit, shit, shit!"

Bella stood on the stairs dazed and a little scared. I raced into her kitchen, grimacing at the strong smell of smoke that attacked your nostrils. The tray of decimated cookies was flung onto the stove. There goes my effort to make her feel better…

"Um… what's going on?"

The cookies looked like little piles of dog turd. "We made you cookies (well, technically only I did) in hope they would make you feel better. I kind of burnt them…"

"You did? Oh, that's so cute. Thank you."

"Thank you? If you hadn't woken up, I would have burnt down your fucking kitchen."

"Give your sense of smell some credit, Edward; you would have noticed before that happened. And I think it's adorable that you made me cookies."

Here's my chance… perhaps I will get something sweet from this mess. "Adorable? Do I get something for being adorable?"

"Maybe…" Bella slipped her arms slowly around my neck. "But we have a son just across the hall…"

"Then we'll have to be extra quiet."

Fuck the cookies. I'll take this please.

Just as her lips brushed against mine, she pulled back with an evil glint in her eye. "Edward?" She whispered.

"Whatever you have to say, please hurry up."

"I've been thinking… It's dawned on me how much I struggled doing things when there isn't anyone else here to watch over Draco."

"Okay…"

"I hope you don't mind finding my things all over the bathroom."

"Really?"

"Yes. Really. We would love to become your roommates."

A huge, cheesy ass grin crossed my features. "Can I kiss you now?"

"You don't have to ask."

I'm taking a note of that one.

_**xxx  
>We all love a bit of cheesy romance.<br>Thoughts?  
><strong>_


	14. Lovesong

_However far away, I will always love you  
>However long I stay, I will always love you<br>Whatever words I say, I will always love you  
>I'll always love you.<em>

**Lovesong - Adele**

_**Draco – 23 months.**_

_**Bella.**_

Although I agreed to move Draco and myself into Edward's new house, it didn't officially happen for a couple months afterwards. It took me that long to convince myself that it was a good idea and that we wouldn't regret anything. And for a couple of months after we moved in, everything seemed to be going really well. Draco had enrolled into a day care and we had bought him his first 'big boy' bed for when he's too old for his crib. It's a Disney Pixar '_Cars'_ bed in the shape of Lightning McQueen. It's low enough to the ground so that Draco can touch the floor with his tip-toes when he's sitting on it. He loves having his own room. With his new train track circled around a pile of teddies. Just like any other toddler, he loves piling up his toys and watching as they crumble down to the ground. For the first couple weeks, Edward and I had to settle him every night and make him understand that we were just down the hall – during the evening, I would wake up to him calling out for me.

Now, a month before Draco's second birthday, everything went back to normal. And when I say it went back to normal, I mean Edward has gone back to normal. Back to the annoying, egotistical asshole I first knew. Rosalie heard from a friend of a friend about a vacancy at a car garage in Seattle. Emmett heard from Rosalie, Edward heard from Emmett and he couldn't have applied quicker. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against him finding a job – it's just what we need to do, but I wouldn't have gone for one as far away as Seattle. He has to leave by 6am at the latest, and doesn't get home till seven or eight o'clock that evening. And when he does get home, he complains about being too tired, eats his dinner and goes to bed. Barely greeting Draco or myself.

On the days off, I try my best to get a large chunk of my work done. But even then, when Edward has the perfect chance to interact with his son, he moans at me and complains about not getting any help. _Urgh, what a bastard_. Because of this, we do argue occasionally. Nothing serious, but we've noticed the changes in Draco because of them. He's learnt what damage can be done by throwing your fists around or swinging your legs. When we tell him 'no', he screams and runs away to hide. This isn't right. I can't have Draco growing up with memories of his parents fighting and shouting at each other twenty-four-seven.

At least tomorrow is a Wednesday – Draco spends the whole day at daycare. I can tick some things off of my ever growing To-Do List.

_**xxx**_

Waking up to over-hear Edward and Draco having a conversation confused the living hell out of me. It is Wednesday, yeah? Edward never has Wednesday's off… so why is he still here when Draco's awake? Oh God… please don't say Draco has woken up at this ungodly hour…If he's awake now, and doesn't go back to sleep, he'll be cranky and restless all day. And if he's awake, I'll have to be awake and I won't have the time to nap with all the duties needed to be done, and then I'll get cranky and restless and it would not be a fun environment to be in.

I slipped from my bed, shoved on an over-sized sweater and padded down to the kitchen. Edward was cutting an apple into suitable chunks for Draco to nibble on. It didn't go unnoticed how… attractive he looked in his blue overalls, halved so the arms are tied around his waist like a belt and a white wife beater. With his job, he's working in the garage – doing little jobs here and there and completing the necessary paper work, as well as being taught how to become the mechanic he's apparently always wanted to be.

I seemed to have arrived just as Edward started playing our new word game. "What's this?" He would point to the apples in our fruit bowl and Draco mumbled out his answer. "Good boy. And… what's this?"

"Juuuuice."

"Ada boy! Who's this?"

"Mummy."

"That's your mummy. Who am I?" Edward prodded his chest with a finger.

"Daddyyy."

"And… who is this?" With a large smile, Edward leant across the breakfast bar and tickled Draco's podgy tummy.

"Mine!" We haven't managed to help him understand the difference between 'mine' and 'me' yet.

"And what is your name?"

"Drah-co…" He whispered timidly.

As Edward praised our talented son, I made myself a cup of coffee – I was going to need it. I wanted to ask Edward why Draco was up at this time, but I doubt it was even his fault, and he had dressed him and made him some breakfast, whilst in a rush to get ready himself. I could probably hold back my negativities for now.

"By the way, Bella, I'll be finishing at twelve today, so I'll pick up Draco on my way home."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, absolutely – I'll be driving past it around that time anyway."

"Okay, well, thanks."

"Not a problem. I better go, see you later." We gave each other and quick hug before Edward went to say goodbye to Draco. "Give daddy kisses?" Draco leant forward to, well, to give daddy kisses. "bye-bye, buddy."

"Ba-bye."

I held my boy on my side and we both waved to Edward through the window as he drove off.

"Daddy gone."

"Daddy has gone to work, but we will see him later."

"Noooo daddy gone!"

"Baby boy, daddy will be back as soon as you've finished at day care. Got it? No need to cry, poppet."

_**xxx**_

Dropping Draco off at daycare proved to be just as challenging as any other day. When we pull up to the gates, he's happy and smiling and eager for me to let him out and take him inside, but the second he's passed over to someone else and sees that I'm about to leave, his bottom lip starts to wobble and he starts to cry. I notice his little friend, Lewis, playing quietly nearby. We try our best to get Draco settled and playing with Lewis, but all he wanted is for me to take him home. I hate this – if I could, I would keep Draco home all the time, but what good would that do him?

"I love you, I'll see you later." I make my exit quick and as pain free as possible. Before leaving, I inform them that Edward will be collecting Draco, just so that they knew and for child protection laws and that. On my way home, I stopped off at the supermarket for the weekly shop and to pick up something special for dinner. It's a rare occasion for Edward to finish work early and in time to join us for dinner, so I bought some pricey steaks which we could enjoy.

I spent the day putting on bundles of washing, getting stuck into my course work and preparing the steaks for later. By three o'clock – when Edward and Draco are supposed to be home – I had some apple chunks and a cup of apple juice waiting for my little boy to enjoy after his long day. I couldn't wait to bring him into my arms and cuddle him close. So when the doorbell rang, I practically sprinted to the door.

"Hey bay-… Jacob…hi."

I have nothing against Jacob coming over, but he was not who I expected to see. "Alright, Bells. Hope you don't mind me popping by unannounced."

"No, not at all. Sorry, I just thought you were Edward bringing Draco home."

"Aw, is my little man not here?" Jacob has been amazing with my son, and their friendship really warms my heart.

"I'm afraid not, but they should be here in a minute. Come on in."

Jacob and I were so engrossed in our conversations that I never noticed the time flying by, and only realised when my phone started to ring. It was Draco's daycare calling, the lady on the other end introduced herself as Tracey. "I would like to inform you that Draco is still waiting on someone to come and get him."

"What?" I nearly screamed down the phone. The time on the oven said three-forty-one; nearly an hour since Draco should have been picked up. To say that I'm angry is the understatement of the century.

"We've being trying to get a hold of his father but haven't been successful."

"I'm so sorry about this, I'll be straight over."

Edward has some major explaining to do.

_**xxx**_

Seven o'clock that evening, we still hadn't heard a word from Edward. For a while I had been worried in case he had been in an accident, but Esme and Carlisle would have been informed and they would have passed the message on to me. What hurt the most, and made me even angrier, was the way Draco acted since he came home. He may only be two years old, but he's not stupid. He knew daddy was getting him from day care; he was practically abandoned for a good hour and now that daddy isn't here, he's not himself. He's moody, crying constantly and if I even try to leave the room, he freaks out and calls my name.

Edward won't know what hit him when he walks through this door.

Jacob had headed home already. I bathed Draco, read him a night time story and settled him off to sleep, and then started on my dinner. I refused to cook Edward anything – it sounds harsh, but he's below my shit list right now. Piss about with me; I'll more than likely forgive you. Piss about with my son, and you're walking a very fine line.

Shortly after eight o'clock, I took notice to the humming of his car parking up front. His eyes met my menacing gaze the second he walked through the door. "Don't start, Bella." He sauntered past me and headed for the stairs.

"Where are you going?"

"Shower." He muttered miserably.

"Your shower can wait. Get down here. Now."

I expected Edward to ignore my command and continue up the stairs, but he didn't – he huffed and gripped tightly on his hair, but turned to join me in the hall way. "Tell me, right now, what was more important than picking up Draco."

"I was asked to join a friend for lunch."

That took the biscuit. "And you didn't think about telling me? Because of you, Draco was left for _an hour, _with no idea if anyone was coming to get him. How could you do that? And why did it take you this long to get home? It's not hard to pick up a … _fucking _phone!"

"Look, Bella, I know you're angry and I -."

"—No! I'm not 'angry' – I'm far from angry; you don't understand, you can't even begin to describe what I'm feeling right now."

"What do you mean I don't understand? Of course I understand! I'm a fucking parent as well!"

My hands made a fist by my sides. I willed myself not to hit him or anything else in the room. "_Then act like one!"_

"I do!"

Oh God, this conversation is not funny in the slightest, but I had the urge to laugh. "So are you saying that you've been the best dad that you can be?"

"No, because I know I've made mistakes; we all have."

"Yes, I have made mistakes. But not telling me that you can't pick Draco up, is not a mistake, it could be seen as a form of neglect. Do you not have a heart?"

Edward turned his back on me and walked into the kitchen, I followed him. He took a seat at the table and slapped his hands down on the wood. "Fuck, Bella… I…" What sounded like a growl erupted from his tense body. "I never planned this! I never wanted this life!"

"And you think I did? No, I didn't. But I put my love for Draco before anything else and stuck with it! At first you didn't want anything to do with us, but then you changed, and now, you seemed to have changed again." Before Edward could respond a faint cry came from upstairs. I had to silently thank Draco for his interruption; anymore arguing could have resulted in us saying things we really did not mean. I mentioned the steak waiting for him in the fridge if he wanted it, then took my leave.

I met an alarming noise as I entered his bedroom – a cough. I know a cough is hardly alarming, but Draco could make any kind of sound and I'd freak out for a second or five. He coughed again before I reached his crib. His cheeks were red, his eyes watery and a little line of snot run to his upper lip. Whenever he coughed or sneezed, he started to cry.

"Come here, baby." Draco eagerly cuddled into my chest. We went into the bathroom and pulled a couple soft tissues from their box. Just like any two-year-old, Draco hated me wiping his nose; he twisted his head from side to side, nearly wiping his snotty nose on the sleeve of my t-shirt. I call down the stairs for Edward to bring up a sippy cup of water, and then decided to lie down on my bed, with Draco curled up on my front. I ran my fingers through his hair and patted his back to soothe his coughs.

"What's up?" Edward slowly approached us, handing over the cup.

"He's got a common cold." I made Draco sit up as Edward passed him the water. He refused to even take a sip. "Come on, poppet. The drink will make it all better."

It took a fairly long time to get him to drink anything, but he did in the end, and went back to snooze on my chest. "Is there… um… is there anything I could do to help?"

"It's fine, I've got it."

"Okay… well… if you need some help just ask." Edward left us in peace, leaving my door open a touch as he walked out. Although Draco had fallen asleep again, he still coughed, sniffed and made whimpering noises which broke my heart; I wish I could magic his illness away, but I know a little cold is far from the worst thing that I'll face as the years go by.

In the silence I thought about all the feelings that ran through me today. I began to debate on my actions; should I have, or should I not have said what I said? Angel Bella advised for me to apologise, whereas Devil Bella told me to wait for Edward to do the apologising – he started it after all. I don't feel like I was in the wrong; I was doing what any parent should. Just because he's 'daddy', doesn't mean I need to act any different when something could easily harm my child.

I don't doubt that Edward loves him – I never have – and I understand how he feels towards becoming a parent at such a young age and by complete surprise, but I never planned this either – I was scared shitless when I saw the haunting plus sign on a pregnancy test, but after deciding to stick with it, I have to keep up with my promise and force myself to become the mother I have always wanted to be. And Edward has to do the exact same.

I attempted to put Draco back in his crib once I was certain he wouldn't awake. I was wrong. The second he left my arms, his whining started up again. I couldn't bare leaving him in this state, so I took him back to my bed with me. I have my bed up against the wall, which meant I could rest without the worry of him rolling off during the night.

I never heard anything from Edward for the rest of the night. I'm not going to lie, it pissed me off that he didn't come to say goodnight to his son. I didn't hear the sound of that shower he was so eager to have either. Chances were we wouldn't see him until he came home from work the next day.

_**xxx**_

I woke a few hours later to an empty bed. I never managed to freak out over Draco's whereabouts, because his sweet voice could be heard from down the hall. "Daddy!" He called, desperate for an answer. "Daddy!"

Jumping out of bed, I went to my son and crouched down next to him. "Draco, sweetheart, it's very late; let's go back to bed." The look he gave me sent chills through my body – I've never seen someone look so upset and worried at the same time.

"Daddy gone."

"Come on, poppet." Taking his hand, we went to Edward's room; I knocked a couple times, and then slowly opened the door. Expecting to see him asleep in bed, but he wasn't there.

"Daddy?"

"He's probably just downstairs. Let's go find him."

But we didn't find him downstairs either.

What we did find, however, was a letter on the kitchen table.

I didn't want to know what it said, even though I had to.

My name was written in neat italics on the front.

_I wanted to get this said without the interruptions or the raised voices. I would very much like you to read what I have to say before you start questioning me at all. Of course I feel ashamed for not collecting him and I honestly do not have an excuse for not phoning, I can only apologise for that. And if you question me '_having a heart' _or not_, _then I would like you to remember one thing: I have felt pain that a lot of people cannot even begin to describe. I have been this close to losing both you and Draco in one go, do you even know how that feels? We've never talked about that day (we barely talk period) but watching your heart just… stop, will haunt me for the rest of my days. When I heard that we had a healthy son, my whole view on life changed. I promised him, myself and you that I would do whatever it took to love him, to care for him and to make sure that he lived a life he deserves. _

_Nothing in this world means more to me than Draco. Everything I do now is for him and you. Maybe you should decide against accusing me of 'neglect' and all the other bullshit before you speak your words. I don't want to fight with you, Bella, but it seems to be the only thing we do nowadays. So please remind our son that I love him, that I'm incapable of ever feeling anything else, and that I'll see him soon. I'm staying with a friend, don't worry about me. I want to make this work, I want to share five words with you without them turning into a shouting match and so, when that can happen, I will come back. But until then, keep safe. For me._

_Edward._

_**xxx**_

_**Please trust me, guys…**_


	15. Take It All

**A/N- This song is too perfect for words. Please read the lyrics…**

_Didn't I give it all?  
>Tried my best<br>Gave you everything I had.  
>Everything and no less.<em>

_Didn't I do it right?  
>Did I let you down?<br>Maybe you got too used to  
>Having me around.<em>

_Still how can you walk away  
>From all my tears?<br>It's gonna be an empty road  
>Without me right here<em>

_But go on and take it  
>Take it all with you<br>Don't look back  
>At this crumbling fool.<em>

_**Take It All – Adele.**_

_**Edward**_

I love this picture. Draco and I are fast asleep on the couch; he's lying on my chest with my arm draped over him protectively. He must have been at least five-six months old at the time, I don't know who took the picture, but it was probably my mum. Next to that frame, was another – Draco was older in this one and his hands were squashed up against his cheeks. It was a head shot which allowed you to focus clearly on his large brown eyes. By looking at this picture, you can identify whose features he had inherited – a rounded face, little sticking out ears, large brown eyes and dark brown hair which holds the occasional cow lick. Only the future can tell whether his hair will stay this colour or turn lighter like mine. His nose is small and rounded and when he smiles he has a tiny dimple on his right cheek. I have a head-shot photo like this slipped inside my wallet – I proudly show it off whenever I can.

Taking these photo frames from the table really put into perspective what I'll be leaving behind. But my whole purpose behind it is to hopefully give Draco a brighter up-bringing. As surprising as it may sound, I've been a witness to my parents having outrageous arguments; money situations, working too many hours and over my tardiness through my school years. As soon as dad applied for the job here in Forks, and booked it, the arguments seized to a stop. But I remember getting stressed and agitated, because of their shouting. To be the reason behind my own son's stress, short temper or any other symptom…hurts. There is no other way to describe it; Draco's pain is my pain. So the sooner Bella and I can sort out our problems, the happier our boy will become.

My friend didn't think twice when I asked them whether I could stay for a few days; they understand my reasons. I crept around the house quietly, not wanting to wake Bella or Draco up, collecting a few things to take along with me, as well as pouring my heart into the words I wrote in my letter. Saying goodbye was by far the worst obstacle to overcome. I had my bags packed, sitting by the stairs, and tip-toed into Bella's room. Draco had moved around in his sleep and now lay with his head pointing down the way and his feet on the pillow, scarcely kicking Bella in the head. This made my mission a lot easier.

"Bye-bye buddy. I love you." I pressed a small kiss to the side of his forehead and ruffled his hair with my hand, making sure I didn't wake him up. If I hadn't left then, I never would have. I just had to remember, that all of this was for Draco's sake…even though this hurt more than I cared to admit. So, after kissing Bella's cheek lightly, I left, without turning back around.

_**xxx**_

"Hey, Cullen! You got Newtons' VIN?" Felix had a mouth on him. I was out the back, filling out some shit on the computer, and he was up front with Karen Newton – mother of ass-wipe, Mike – what a small world. I'm surprised she still had her hearing after Felix screamed across the garage. Flicking through a large pile of paper on the desk, I sought out Newtons' sheet and headed through to Felix.

"Want me to read it out?"

"Nah, man, it's cool; I'll copy it from there."

Mrs. Newton spotted me and wouldn't let me leave until she told me every single fucking thing that Mike was doing right now – _'He has taken a gap year out from schooling to travel Europe. Oh, we are so proud of him – _whoopty fucking doo, Basil. Of course, she had to stick her snotty nose where it doesn't belong, and ask how Bella was getting along '_no longer able to study, what with being a single mother'. _Like Mike is the perfect son; he's passed on STDs more than once. Her pompous, up herself voice was getting on my nerves.

"Actually Mrs. Newton, Bella and I are looking after our son together, so she isn't a single mother. But it was great to catch up." I walked away before saying something which would have resulted in losing my job. Royce King was in the back office, feet propped up on the desk, and leaning back in his seat. He was shovelling mouthfuls of chicken salad, barely taking the time to chew each mouthful.

"Newton stirring shit up again?"

"Urgh, when doesn't she? Fucking nosey bitch. It's bad enough that we have to share the same town, now she goes _here _for a simple car MOT? It's a load of bollocks."

"Talking about your boy, again?" Royce made a crap attempt at chucking his plastic salad container into the bin – it bounced on the sides then scattered to the floor. He shrugged and chugged loudly from a can of Root Beer.

"How did you guess that?"

"Because you wouldn't act like that if she were asking about your mother. I am a father as well, remember."

Oh, I remember.

Royce King used to date Rosalie, all of their friends warned her that he sleeps around and that he'd be unfaithful to her, but Rosalie never seemed to take much notice and believed that the '_I love you'_s he mumbled were the real deal. Then one night, just before Christmas, Rosalie goes to her meet her best friend, Vera, and what does she find? Royce, humping the shit out of said best friend against her piano. Nine months later, Royce and Vera celebrate the birth of their daughter, and Rosalie has found a home with my brother. Simple. Since then, they've had another child, and apparently living the American Dream. Funnily enough, Rosalie stayed close friends with Vera.

"How are the little ones doing, anyway?"

"Not too shabby. Elizabeth will be starting school soon, and it is Henry's first this weekend – sure have grown up fast."

"Tell me about it; Draco will be two next month; feels like only yesterday that I was being told about him."

We don't really talk much for the rest of the day. I helped advice a lady that it would be cheaper to buy a new car than fix her piece of junk, and ordered a new master cylinder. Felix reminded us that the manager, Aro, will be popping by for a visit tomorrow. I haven't met him before, but this place is his baby, so he'll come down on you for the tiniest thing. It felt odd not heading straight home after work. I grabbed dinner from a local pizzeria and went over to Tanya's. She had mentioned something about going on a date with someone from her Business Management class this evening. My pizza for two then became pizza for one. I sat in wonder, thinking about what Bella and Draco were doing at that moment, what they had for dinner and what book Draco would hear before he went to bed. I couldn't hold back, I had to talk to them.

"He-hello? Edward?" Bella sounded flustered when she answered the phone after taking a short while to answer.

"Bella? Are you okay?"

"Now isn't the best time to talk. Can I phone you back in a minute?"

_Sigh. _"Yeah, I guess so."

A pizza, no matter how good it may look, never tastes as good as it should once your mood has been tampered with. Tanya had fucked off to her date; I had one slice of pizza left and flickered through the TV channels, to find fuck all to watch. Tanya is living off a low income, so she can't afford a brand spanking new TV, nor can she afford to buy every DVD she sees, so her small selection of seven or eight films, never held much interest either. So it isn't surprising that as soon as my phone vibrated, I accepted the call and answered in haste, only to realise Emmett was phoning, and not Bella.

"Dude, what the fuck?"

"Um… hello, Emmett."

"And when were you going to tell us that you've been kicked to the streets?"

"Excuse me? Bella hasn't kicked me out."

"Well whatever – it seemed that way when she came over just then."

"Allow me to get a few things straight, Emmett. Bella and I had an argument, so I'm staying with a friend until it all blows over, got it? And what are you doing home?"

"What? Am I not allowed to come and see our darling parents?"

Apart from arranged holidays and/or family events, Emmett tends to come home for two things – money and laundry, so I hardly doubt he come over just to catch up with mum and dad.

"Free country. Why did Bella go over? Just to see our darling parents as well?"

"Yeah, well, one of them – dad. She wanted to ask him about medication she could give little Drake-y, did you know my little man has a cold?"

"Yes, Emmett, funnily enough I did, seeing as he is my son and all."

"Well you never know! Jesus, I was only making a conversation."

Our call ended not long after those words were muttered – Emmett loses interest in things pretty quickly. I was half expecting a notification to arise informing me on a miss call when I got off the phone, but I received nothing. It had been way over half an hour since Bella said she'd call me back 'in a minute'. I know 'in a minute' doesn't literally mean she'll return my call within the next sixty seconds, but it tends to be within the next five to ten minutes, not thirty and very nearly forty. When it got between seventy and eighty minutes, I tried again.

"Edward, hey."

"What took you so long?"

"Look, I'm sorry, but I've only just managed to get Draco to sleep; he's been hellish all day."

"Really? What's wrong?"

"He misses you and his cold is only getting worse."

"He misses me?" I wanted to be home, relaxing on the couch, joking with Bella about the day's events and playing stupid games with my son. I miss them too.

"Of course he does, he hasn't seen you in two days – that is a lifetime to a child of his age. He needs to see you, Edward."

"Tomorrow is Friday, right? When is he at daycare till?"

"He never goes to daycare on Fridays. I thought you would have known that."

"Sorry, I… I forgot. I could see if I can change tomorrow's shift for Saturday, and then we'll spend the day together."

Bella took a large intake of breath. "I don't have anything against that, but just so you know, I won't be telling him until you show up. I will not allow him to hurt more when you don't show up."

"If I can, then I promise to be there. I won't let him down again."

"Okay… well send me a message once you know. I have a pile of things to do before I go to bed, so I have to cut this call short."

Either that or she couldn't stand talking to me anymore.

"And Bella… um… how… how are you?"

"You've been gone one day, Edward; I'm hardly going to change drastically in that time."

Yeah, she's pissed.

But who wouldn't be? I leave without saying goodbye and just a note which explains my thoughts and secrets. I know that I did this for their sake, but perhaps this wasn't the right way to do it. I should have thought through my plans better, but…I don't even know anymore. I've made a terrible mistake… that is for certain. I just have to find a way to sort it. And that won't happen if I'm stuck in a house eating cold as fuck pizza and worrying about every single fucking thing that enters my mind. I was brought up better than this.

After talking to Felix and explaining to him that I have family problems, he allowed me to take the weekend off and that he'd find someone else to cover me for the three days. I sent Bella a message, telling her to have Draco ready by ten o'clock the next morning. I then messaged Emmett, asking whether he would want to meet us at the park tomorrow – I could use some brotherly advice on how to deal with things. He agreed all too willingly.

By the time Tanya got home, I had already laid out a blanket and made a little bed for myself on the couch. She asked me how my day had been whilst making a cup of coffee. I talked about Draco, taking time off work to spend quality time with him and made sure she knew that I wasn't going to camp here for too long.

"I understand the situation you're in, Edward. And anyway, you are practically family; you can stay as long as you need to."

"Thanks, I appreciate it. So, how was your date?"

Tanya shrugged, taking a sip from her mug. "Nothing special. I mean, he's nice enough, but you wouldn't exactly call him God's Gift. Want one?" She held out a packet of cigarettes after slipping one out for herself.

"Nah, I'm good – trying to quit."

Her eyes widened. "Twenty plus a week for four years and now you're trying to quit? Jesus, you're not the Edward that I know."

"I haven't been the same person for two years now. Having a child changes you."

_**xxx**_

"You want to go on the swings, buddy?" I hadn't even let Draco out of the buggy and he was already trying to make a run for it. It's late January, so there is still a chill in the air, but all the snow that we had suffered with over the Christmas period had thankfully melted away, leaving the park clear to play on. I parked the buggy by the barriers and watched with a smile as Draco zooms around the various slides, swings and roundabout which were all free to play on.

"Daddy!"

"What is it, little man?" Draco jumped up and down next to the baby swings. "You want to go on that one?" Have you ever tried putting an uncooperative child in one of those fucking baby swing things? Yeah, it isn't fun. Especially when one leg slips over the top of the bars, and the other goes under and through the slot it's actually meant to go through. You're then left with a child complaining about the discomfort. But once you have each leg in place, you're all set… kind of. Apparently, if you push the swing the tiniest bit too fast, Draco freaks out and won't calm down until you assure him that he won't die.

"Brother!" A boisterous voice yells from across the park.

"Who's that?" I ask Draco.

"Mmmmmmett."

"Little brother," Emmett slapped the back of my shoulder in greeting. "Dude!" he held out the palm of his hand which Draco smacked playfully. "How can some dweeb like you have a fuck-awesome son like this?"

"Jesus Emmett! Mind keeping the swear words to yourself? The book says that he's picking up new words daily. Bella will have my ass if she hears him say that!"

"Ha! Like you aint on her shit list already. C'mon Drakey-Drake, let's play a game." Together they raced each other from one tree to another, kicked a ball around, and Emmett's personal favourite: 'Edward Pile-Up.' Emmett would tackle me to the ground and Draco repeatedly jumped on me. Getting a knee, foot, elbow and the occasional head to the junk, hurts like a serious mother fucker. Seriously, if it wasn't for these bad boys, you wouldn't be around, so treat them with some deserved respect.

"Right, I gotta take a piss."

"Pisssss!"

"Emmett!"

"Ha! Sorry dude, kinda slipped out. Anyway, he needs to brighten up his vocabulary."

"Pisss, pisss, pisss, pisss, pisss…."

I make sure Draco is looking me straight in the eye when I start talking. "No. We do not say that word, buddy. Okay?"

"PISSS!"

_Oh, Christ._

_**xxx**_

"So… what, you're just scrounging around till you get this sorted?" Emmett and I had taken a seat on one of the bench tables; Draco was sitting on the ground before us, sifting soil and sand between his fingers.

"I'm not scrounging around; I'm staying with Tanya. And anyway, I don't think I'll be there for much longer."

"Right, but you buy this house, practically beg for them to move in and after one little argument you piss off."

"It was not some little argument – I messed up, big time. It's Draco's home; I'm not having him moving around from place to place. And how many times do I have to tell you, keep your language down!"

"Okay… just hope you know what you're doing."

"I think I do…" Draco peered at the pile of stones he held in his hand, in one sudden movement he shoved them all but one into his mouth. I made a sudden dash to the ground. "No, no, no, no…" Pulling gently down on his chin, I managed to open his mouth wide enough to hook a finger inside and flick out all the stones. My intrusion didn't go down too well with him. He squirmed and wriggled, screaming with tears in his eyes. Once he was free from all the stones, I held him to my chest and we cuddled on the bench.

"Daddy?"

"Yeah?"

"Juice."

"Do you want some juice, buddy?"

"Yesss."

I get Emmett to bring over the buggy and rummages through the bottom basket to retrieve Draco's sippy cup. He drank that stuff down quicker than Emmett would a beer. He was probably getting pretty peckish too. "Would you like a banana or an apple?"

"Ba-nan-nan-na."

I broke off a chunk of banana and gave it to him to enjoy. "You're daddy's clever boy."

"_Cough _sap _cough."_

"Oh, shut it, Emmett. You'll find yourself doing the same thing if you ever get Rosalie to produce your spawn."

"Hey! Are you calling my un-made children _spawn?"_

"Yeah… only because you called me a 'sap' for being affectionate and praising my son."

Emmett shrugged. "That's because you are a sap." He attempted to steal a chunk of Draco's banana.

"No!" A tiny voice shouted in annoyance.

"Ha-ha! That's what you get for stealing your nephews food!

"Oh, Edward, stop being a dick."

"…Deck."

_First 'piss' and now 'dick'. Oh, Jesus God, what next?_

"Hey buddy, I will buy you a BMW if you promise not to say those words to Bella. Yeah?" Draco slapped my outstretched hand almost like he agreed to my compromise.

"You have to stick to that now."

"Shut up, Emmett."

_**xxx**_

"Mummy!"

"Hey, baby! Did you have fun with daddy?" Draco ran straight into Bella's open arms. "Yeah?"

"Yes."

I stood back and watched over them with a smile.

"What did you do?" He giggled and ran around in a circle. "Huh? What are you giggling at?"

"Daddy…"

It's as if you're communicating with a brick wall.

"What did daddy do?"

"…Pisssss…deck…"

That's my cue to run… fast.

_**xxx**_

_**Funny story, when my brother was 2, he said 'piss' whenever he was excited about something and my cousin called his dad a 'piss dick' at the same age. I have a cool family…**_


	16. You've Got A Friend In Me

_**A/N **_**- IMPORTANT: Draco's storybook featured in this chapter is one that my sister used to read. I don't know whether you can get it in America, but let's just say you can, yeah? ;) **_Usborne Farmyard Tales 'The Naughty Sheep' _**is owned by Heather Amery and Stephen Cartwright, and everybody in the publication.**

_You've got troubles, well I've got 'em too,  
>There isn't anything that I wouldn't do for you,<br>We stick together and see it through,  
>You've got a friend in me.<em>

_**You've Got a Friend in Me – Randy Newman, 'Toy Story'**_

_**Bella.**_

"…Pissss… deck…"

Draco had been excitedly speaking his new vocabulary since he came home. Edward shot me that '_please don't kill me' _look every time we heard them. He explained to me over and over that it had been Emmett who taught his nephew those words, and that Edward had nothing to do with it. I believed him; he's slipped out the odd curse, but every time he has, he apologises profusely and I believe him when he says that he never wants Draco to repeat them. Also, I am fully aware of Emmett's vocabulary and the constant string of inappropriate words that he can mutter on a daily basis.

"Draco…" I hold his hands to his sides (lightly, so not to hurt him) and make sure he's looking at me when I talk. "We do not say those words – they are bad words. Do you understand?" His expression told me that he didn't. So I try plan B. Next time he spoke them, I looked him in the eyes and said 'no' firmly. A tiny scowl formed on his face, he wriggled out of my grasp and screamed the word back to me.

"Nnnno!" He threw himself to the ground and slapped the linoleum flooring hard with his hands. "No, no, no!" I didn't understand why this would have caused a tantrum. I rubbed his back, but he shoved my hand away. Everything that I did or tried to do, he would scream harder – hard enough that tears formed and fell down his cheeks. Edward sat before our tearful son and crossed his legs.

"C'mon here, buddy." Sniffing loudly, Draco crawled over and curled his tiny body up onto his daddy's lap. For a few seconds, I was jealous that he would scream at me and welcomed every bit of comfort that Edward offered, but it soon disappeared – I'm sure I despised one parent but not the other at times; it's the way toddlers act. "Buddy, you're not allowed to repeat what Uncle Emmett says, okay?"

"Mmmmmett."

"Yes, Uncle Emmett. Do not say those words, do you understand? Yes or no?"

"Yes."

"Good boy," Edward ruffled his hair and kissed his forehead. "Now, can you say sorry to mummy?"

"Mummy…"

"That's right – say sorry to mummy; give her a hug."

I waited patiently for Edward to stand Draco up right and signal him to walk over to me. I opened my arms to welcome him into a hug, but instead of coming over to me, he shouted 'piss' and ran in the direction of his toys. Edward and I gave each other the same '_we'll try again later' _look. "He's going to be tired after such a busy day, so I'm thinking we get him fed, bathed and into bed earlier than usual."

"Yeah, sounds a like a plan to me."

"And then we talk."

"Talk?"

"Yes Edward, we talk."

_**xxx**_

I assisted in Draco cleaning his teeth, and Edward picked out a book and got himself ready next to read it. Draco threw his toothbrush into the sink once he had finished and smiled brightly at me. "Beautiful!" I grinned, helping him down off the step-up stool and racing him into his bedroom. With cuddles and kisses out of the way, we got him snuggled up into bed and ready for his story. Edward gripped onto one side of the book, and I took the other, balancing it on Draco's tummy so that he could see the pictures easily. Each page had a little yellow duck which you needed to find. We've read this story to him a countless number of times, so I was intrigued in whether he could remember where they were.

"_This is Apple Tree Farm…" _Edward spoke smoothly and followed each word with a finger. "_This is Mrs. Boot, the farmer. She has two children called Poppy and Sam, and a dog called Rusty." _He pointed to Poppy – a little girl with a blue and white spotty dress – and then to Sam – a boy clearly younger than Poppy who wore a yellow shirt and red dungarees. We asked Draco to find the duck, "where's the duck? Can you find it?" To be honest, it took me a little while to find it myself (peeking out from behind a tree branch) so it wasn't surprised that we had to show it to him.

"_On the farm there are seven sheep…" _Edward pointed to each of the sheep and numbered them as he went along. "_The sheep live in a big field with a fence around it. One sheep has a black eye. She is called Woolly." _We made sure Draco knew which one was Woolly and he found the duck all by himself that time – leaning against a fence pillar. The story progresses and we follow to story of Woolly escaping and causing havoc around the farm, eating Mrs. Boot's prize winning flowers and following the family to the local Show.

"_Woolly goes into the ring. She pushes past the people and into the field. She stops by a man in a white coat."_

"Duck!" Draco exclaims, pointing to Woolly.

"No buddy, that is a sheep." Edward corrects him.

"Duuuuuck!"

"Sheeeeep."

"Come on, Edward, don't get him worked up." I finish off reading the story, describing how Woolly won a prize for being the loveliest sheep in the competition and that they all went home again with big smiles on their faces.

"More."

"No more, it's bed time – we can read lots of stories tomorrow."

"More!"

"It's too late now; more tomorrow."

Draco rolled into the side of his car bed, hiding his face in his hands and wriggled around whilst moaning. "Can I have more night-night kisses, buddy?" He didn't succumb to Edward's distraction, and continued to moan and wriggle.

Edward widened his eyes and stuck out his lower lip, putting on a faux sad expression. He then pretended to cry. "You've made daddy sad. Look… daddy is crying." From hearing his father's fake sobs, he seemed to get the message. Draco looked up with a fearful expression.

"Daddy…"

"Baby boy, give daddy some night-night kisses to make him feel better." I couldn't help smiling when he rose to his tiny knees and laid his hand onto his daddy's hands in a way of comfort. Edward laughed silently, carefully bringing back his hands and catching his son as he fell into his chest. They happily gave each other sweet kisses and a tight hug. Draco snuggled back under the covers, chugging down a bottle of milk and didn't even notice us leaving the room.

"Right, where's our food; I'm starving."

"You're acting more like Emmett every day. It's rather terrifying."

_**xxx**_

Together, we made a decent meal of chilli and potatoes. Apparently, Edward can happily peel some potatoes, but if you try to get him to brown some mince or do anything which involves a hob, he freaks out like a little girl. "It's not going to kill you." I mutter, which he replies with some smart-ass remark about how it can, in fact, kill him by sparking a fire of gassing us all. That being said, I make him wash up the utensils from Draco's dinner and set the table. I always find it best to have a chat with someone over a meal – you have food to distract yourself with.

"When did this start? Us not talking I mean."

Taking a sip of juice from my glass gave me a second to think of a valid answer. "We've never had the closest of relationships to begin with; it just grew on from there I think."

"Right… but we agreed to get better (many a time, we have) but it keeps falling back on us and failing."

"You must admit, we're pretty stubborn people, but, even though these words have been repeated again and again, I cannot do this anymore. You've seen Draco's tantrums – they appear more often now, and I think it's because of us. I think us shouting at each other and almost raising him single-handedly has done this."

"Then I'm going to need your help. I… I don't do relationships."

"I didn't say we were starting one."

"No, but what I mean, Bella, is that I don't know how to be open with someone about my feelings. You're going to have to help me with that."

I scooped a forkful of mashed potato, eating it slowly as I thought over what to say. How do I help someone when I have the same problem? "Um… well next time something bothers you – or me, for that matter – we should come to each other, say what's wrong, and then a weight is lifted off of our shoulders. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah, that makes sense. So, what has been bothering you?"

"You mean, apart from you forgetting to collect Draco and then disappearing in the middle of the night?" I scraped together the remains of my dinner, watching Edward drop his head in guilt. I didn't mean for my words to affect him in that way. I covered his clenched fist with one hand. "Hey, you've apologised and I understand why you left, let's not think about that right now, okay?"

"Even so, I've made a huge mistake and I can only pray that you'll learn to forgive me."

Edward can guilt trip you like a pro. All it takes is a '_no-one loves me' _tone of voice and sad puppy dog eyes. "I've already forgiven you for forgetting to collect him, and, if I'm being entirely honest, I should be asking for your forgiveness for accusing you the way I did. It wasn't fair to bring you down like that."

He stuck his hand out for me to shake. "Truce?"

"Truce." I replied with a smile.

Our talk went on remarkably well. We discussed the days in which Draco is at home instead of at daycare and whether Edward could arrange with his boss to have those days off to allow us to spend much more time together as a family of three, and not a family of two – he mentioned his talk with Mrs. Newton and how she had named me a 'single mother' – his expression and the names he called her made me laugh. We continued to talk as we cleared the table and cleaned up – I washed, Edward dried.

"Bella… I was thinking that maybe… if we didn't have to worry about Draco's every movement, and had more time to ourselves… we might manage to communicate easier."

"My, my, my, Edward Cullen, are you asking me out on a date?"

"I know you dream for the day that that happens, but I'm sorry to say I was not implying that we went on a date, just that we spent more time together. Say… watching a movie once Draco's asleep… or… well, of course we don't have to do anything – it was just an idea. I don't want you to feel as if you _have _to go along with my ideas and… and… and of course you can decide what we… or you… or… what we do… and…"

Aww, the poor thing was rambling. "We could watch a movie after this if you want?"

Edward sighed a sigh of relief. "Thanks for helping me out there. I could check on Draco and you could pick out the movie? But, if you do choose the film, it can't be something you would watch with Alice on a Friday night with a pot of Ben and Jerry's."

"A chick-flick, you mean?"

Edward waved his hand, "whatever the bloody things are called."

I knew exactly which one to choose – I was having withdrawal sometimes from the characters. I slipped the disk into the machine and put the case back where it had come from so Edward couldn't figure out what I had chosen. As soon as the first advert began to play, I pressed pause and waited for Edward's return. He had Draco's empty milk bottle in his hand – which he threw into the sink – and reported on how our boy was sleeping.

"What are we watching then?"

"Let's see if you can guess…" I quickly ran through the theme tune in my head. "_Dum dum, de-de dum dum, de-de dum dum, de-de de-dum. Dum dum, de-de dum dum, de-de dum dum, de-de-dum."_

"Pirates of the Caribbean?"

"Yes indeed. The first, because that one is bad ass."

All my clean thoughts went out the window the second Johnny Depp came on screen. _Oooh, I would do bad things to that man. _

"There is something very sexy about Mr. Sparrow." I muttered, more to myself than anything.

"So… if I had long dreadlocks, some strange plaited beard thing, and walked like I had something up my ass, you would say I was sexy?"

_Ha! Fat chance._

"If you looked like Johnny Depp, then yeah, but because it's you, then you would just look like a freak."

Edward clutched at his chest. "Oh, Bella, your words wound me so…"

"Hush up, this is my favourite part."

After saving Elizabeth from drowning and almost getting shot by the Commodore and his guards, Jack performs one of my favourite scenes. _"Sticks and stones, love. I save your life, you save mine – we're square. Gentlemen… m'lady… You will always remember this as the day you almost caught… Captain Jack Sparrow…" _He pushed Elizabeth into the crowd of guards, grabbed onto some loose rope and flies into the air. Swinging around with gunshots pulsing past, he landed neatly on a wooden beam and slides down to land – can this man _get _any better?

"Oh, my God, their swords clash in time to the music…" I made no reply; Edward's comments alone amused me. "That poor donkey…" and "Seriously, that has got to be one large stick up Commodore-What's-His-Name's ass; dude acts like a complete pussy."

"Norrington."

"Come again?"

"His name is Commodore Norrington. James Norrington."

"My apologies Miss Swan. Ha, get it? Miss Swann… Miss Swan… you have the same name."

"Edward, I shall never understand why you haven't become a comedian – you sure can make people laugh." I deadpanned.

"You'll regret saying that when I become famous."

"Sure I will."

"'_Ello poppet'"_ Pintel peers through the crack of the cupboard doors.

"Hey!" Edward exclaimed. "You say that!"

"I say what?" I asked, looking at him confusingly.

"Poppet. You call Draco 'poppet' all the time. You must have got it off 'Pete The Perverted Pirate' there."

"Okay Edward… you keep thinking that."

All was quiet for the good part of five minutes, but then… "I used to know someone that looked like Barbossa… but it was a woman."

"That's really interesting."

_Can I watch my movie, or…?_

Apparently not.

"Bella?"

"Yes, Edward?"

"I like that monkey. Get me that monkey?"

"I've already given you a son. Don't push your luck."

_**xxx**_

"…Bootstraps' bootstraps."

"Edward?"

"Mmm…?"

"Shut up."

"What's the magic word?"

"_Please _shut up?"

"Okay."

Thank God for that, then.

"_STOP BLOWING HOLES IN MY SHIP!"_

_**xxx**_

The next morning, I was walking down the stairs with a selection of Draco's clothes hanging over one arm. He had been persistent to stay with daddy in his used diaper, than come up and get changed with me. So I brought his changing station, to him.

"_Aaaaaah." _The strange squealing sound arose from the living room. I hurried in, just in time to see Edward running towards a footstool he had placed at one end of the room. He leaped over it skilfully and turned to smile excitedly at his son. "_Aaaaaah." _Draco cried again, running towards the stool, belly flopping onto it and using his little feet to push his body around one-hundred-and-eighty degrees. I didn't want to be the killjoy who ruined all the fun, so watched them repeat their obstacle course several more times.

Draco soon got tired and found rearranging the couch cushions really interesting. 'Cause, you know, toddlers have the attention span of a pea.

"Baby boy it's time to get changed now." I laid out his changing mat and hoped he would come over to me. But he didn't. After much more resisting and refusing to listen to a word Edward and I said, I went for Plan B and literally picked him up and laid him down. It's clear to say he was not a fan. Draco repeatedly screamed and thrashed about – kicking me in the face quite a few times. I took a hold of his feet so he couldn't kick me anymore.

"Draco, we do not kick people." He didn't like that either. But after ten struggling minutes, we had the fresh diaper on as well as one sock – it looked to be as far as we were going to get for now.

To distract him, Edward leant forward and asked Draco some questions.

"Where is your tummy?"

Draco prodded his stomach with the tip of a finger.

"Good boy! Who is this?" He pointed to me.

"Muuuummy…."

"Well done! Er… What is your name?"

"Drah-co…"

"What a clever boy. Who am I?"

"Daddyyyyy!"

"And, can you say 'hi dad'?"

"Hi… Dad…"

"That's a new I taught him." Edward smiled proudly.

Draco ended up with two socks on and a pair of beige shorts.

I call it a win on my behalf.

_**xxx**_

"How about we invite some of Draco's little friends over from daycare?"

We were sitting on the couch, relaxing after getting the little one down for a nap and discussing ideas for his second birthday party. "Edward, have you gone completely insane? One child is quite enough, let alone seven or eight. I think a nice tea party with the family, maybe with some games and party bags to end it with."

"I like that, but please don't mention anything to Alice; you know what she's like when it comes to parties."

I didn't like the idea of keeping anything from Alice. "But she's my best friend and Draco's aunt."

"He is our son – we get to plan the party however we want it."

"Okay, so are we going to have a theme? Maybe a teddy bears tea party?"

Edward gave me an incredulous look. "The fuck? He's not a girl. Who does he like? Character wise, I mean."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Dora the Explorer."

"Oh, Christ, it's not getting much better. There is no way in hell we are having it Dora themed."

"I guess it doesn't have to be one theme." Edward didn't seem to understand what I meant. "I mean, we could all be different characters."

"Please don't say you want me to dress up…"

An evil smirk crossed my face. "Edward, I want you to dress up and help me make this an enjoyable birthday for him. Please? Can you do that for me?"

"Alright, fine! But I'm not going to go as some fucking hot dog or Alice in fucking Wonderland."

"Aw, damn! I just ordered your dress."

"Shut up, Bella."

_**xxx**_

**AN—I will have a new story up sometime in the next week – Southernward, Horseward, Whatever-the-hell-you-want-ward :-P **

**Favourite moment or line? Review!  
>RosieRathbone xx<strong>


	17. I'M CHUCK FUCKING NORRIS

**A/N— Short chapter, I'm sorry. Also, major apologies for the delay. Hope you enjoy.  
>**NOTE** There is a mention towards a lesbian relationship later on in this chapter, I want to make it clear that I have no problem with any sexual orientation and believe that people should be whoever they wish to be. <strong>

_It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to,  
>Cry if I want to, cry if I want to,<br>You would cry too if it happened to you._

_**It's My Party – Lesley Gore.**_

_**Bella**_

_**YOU'RE INVITED.**_

_Draco Cullen _would like to invite, _Grandma and Grandpa Cullen, _to help celebrate _his 2__nd__ birthday._

Date: _Sunday 4__th__ March. _Time: _2:00pm._

At: _420 Woodcroft Ave.  
>Forks WA.<em>

RSVP: _Bella or Edward ASAP._

_**Come dressed as your favourite TV/movie character!**_

Each invite had his hand print painted in the top left hand corner. Doing this on eight separate invites doesn't sound like a challenge, but when the two-year-old on your lap prefers to cover you in paint and refuses to have their hand pressed onto card, you have yourself a challenge. I thought over perhaps scrapping them and starting again, but we're spending so much money on his party already, I really didn't want to fork out another thirty bucks buying some expensive card. I should have realised the total price before taking it to the check out. Although my son is worth ten times the amount we're paying, next year I'm going for the cheap version. And I'm saving up for his twenty-first starting now.

With each invite ready to be delivered, I had Draco put on his outside jacket managed to get him into the car without even the slightest refusal. Well, it might have been partly due to the fact that we would be seeing Grandma and Grandpa Cullen and also Grandpa Charlie on our outing. I swear after a day at daycare he would be more excited to see them than see me. On our way we stopped off at a post box to send the invitations that were for Alice, Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie, and then we were on our way to the police station. Charlie's close friend, Wayland, met us at the door.

"Good afternoon, Bella." He greeted with a smile. "And how is this little tyke doing?" He ruffled Draco's hair.

"We're doing just fine thank you. Poppet, say 'hello' to Wayland?" We watched the toddler in my arms. He didn't seem to like this stranger standing before him, so he hid his face on my shoulder. "Oh, looks like he's not willing to chat today. Is dad about?"

"Yeah, he's just in his office; go on through."

"Thanks." I smiled politely at another co-worker that walked passed, but I didn't know his name. Charlie's usual monotone response of 'come in' allowed me to enter. The second Draco saw his Grandpa at the other end of the room he wriggled out from my arms and ran over for a cuddle.

"Hey there, solider. What a nice surprise it is to see you here."

"Yeah, we have something to give to you," fishing out his invite from the pile in my hands, I passed it over before taking the seat on the opposite side of his desk. "We hope you can make it."

"_Draco Cullen would like to invite Grandpa Charlie to help celebrate his 2__nd__ birthday…" _Dad read aloud, he smiled down at his grandson who seemed in awe at everything surrounding him. "Oh, you're not having it at your own house?"

"No, Carlisle mentioned that they have a… _function room _which is hardly ever used and really spacious, so offered to hold it there."

"Well I guess if you have the facilities at hand, why not use them? I would love to come, but do I really need to dress up?"

I rolled my eyes, "yes, you do. I've managed to talk Edward into dressing up. Come on, it'll be fun."

Charlie sighed in defeat. "Did you talk them into this, Solider?" I don't know why he's giving Draco that pet name, but I don't dislike it, so I won't be changing it any time soon.

"Daddyyyyy."

"Your daddy is making me do this?"

"Da-_ddyyyyy!" _Draco kicked his little feet hard against Charlie's shins; I stepped in to remove the near-screaming child from his lap.

"He hasn't seen Edward since last night, so he's getting withdrawal symptoms." I laughed silently. "We still have some rounds to make, so we'll let you get back to your work. But we'll see you next week for the party."

"Absolutely."

Our goodbyes were said and by some miracle, Draco's moaning never turned into a fully-fledged tantrum, by hearing that we were going to see Grandma Esme next, his smile returned to his face. His calling for 'daddy' picked up once we were at the Cullen house; he clearly links this to the times he would spend with Edward at this house.

Esme kissed our cheeks sweetly. "Funny you should come over, because I was about to do the exact same thing." She led us into the living room and scooped up a pile of DVDs that were lying on a side table. "I found these on an old computer file and I knew you had to see them. The resemblance blew me away!" With some persuasion, Esme had us taking a seat in front of the shockingly large TV, ready and waiting to see what she had to show us. I knew from the date 06/20/1992 on the bottom of the screen that we were watching a home video, it started with a much younger Emmett standing with his back to a door and grinning widely. Baby Alice was asleep in a pushchair next to him.

"_What are we here to do, Emmett?" _Carlisle's voice broke the silence that had taken over.

Emmett took a quick lick of the red sucker in his hand. "_Um, to see my baby bwovva?" _I'm guessing here, but if my calculations are correct, then Emmett is about four, and Alice is a little over a year old. Carlisle continues to make sure Emmett is quiet and well behaved before they enter the hospital building. The video skips to Esme in the hospital bed, exhausted looking with red cheeks, but the largest smile plastered on her face. She's holding a tiny bundle in her arms. Emmett is lifted onto the bed and he peers down at a new born, baby Edward.

"_He's so tiny…" _Emmett prods Edward's face a little too hard, you hear Carlisle warning him to be careful. _"Wake up bwovva."_

"_Ssh, Emmett, you don't want to wake him." _Says Esme.

"_He's boring." _I had to laugh at Emmett's clear disapproval. Esme explains to him that Edward isn't boring, he's just having a little nap. _"Why's he sleeping?"_

"_Because babies get very tired." _

"_Why's he very tired?"_

Carlisle cuts in to help his son understand the life of a baby. _"He doesn't have as much energy as you do. So when he gets older, he won't sleep as much."_

"_But Mary a baby 'nd she no sleep all the time."_

"_That's because Mary is older than Edward, and she can stay awake longer than he can."_

It was weird to hear Alice being referred to as 'Mary'. I ask Esme when that changed, and she said Alice was determined to have everyone calling her by her middle name by age five. The video ends on Emmett understanding that his brother won't be asleep all the time and that soon he'll be able to have fun with him. I understood why I was shown these; even though all newborns look the same, you could see the clear resemblance between Edward and Draco, and I couldn't help but smile throughout the whole thing.

Esme swapped over the DVDs, skipped a few chapters and laughed as she sat back in her seat. "This is my favourite one." She informed me.

"_Welcome to the Emmett and Edward shoooooow!" _Emmett flung his arms out in a theatrical way. The date on the bottom of the screen was 04/28/95 which made Edward three and Emmett seven. Draco giggled loudly, pointed to the screen and said 'Drah-co!' That just shows how alike they are at this age. Does that mean Draco will have unruly copper hair when he's older?

Back to the home movie, Emmett was doing a grand job introducing the show. "_Today on the Emmett and Edward show, we're going to be doctors, just like our dad. Edward, what have you done to your arm?" _Edward was too busy smiling and waving at whoever was filming to take part in the 'show'. _"EDWARD!" _Emmett slapped his brother's head, said brother shot him a deathly look. A look I have seen far too often on his son.

"_Mooooooooommy!" _Edward cried, clutching his forehead. "_Emmett hit me! Like… dis!" _He acted out Emmett's recent 'attack' and then realised he had hurt himself again. "_Owww! I no like this game no more, momma." _

I turned to look at Esme, who was laughing quietly into her hand. "That, is why I am fine with just having little Draco; a sibling argument is not my cup of tea."

"I think my boys were just unusually boisterous and you know what they say: _like father like son."_

_Dear Bella's uterus._

_I would like to make it known to you now that another child is not on Bella's Bucket List, and therefore, you are, as of this moment, considered unemployed. _

_Many thanks for everything you did with Draco._

_Lots of love,_

_Bella's Brain._

There, that should do the trick.

_**xxx**_

"_So, what you're saying Bell, is that we need to dress up as a character from TV..."_

Nothing gets past Emmett.

"Yes, but it has to be suitable for Draco's viewing."

"_Shit."_

I rolled my eyes. "What did you have planned?"

"_Just thought it could have been the perfect opportunity to see Rose in some sexy number. Y'know the type I mean; stockings, stilettoes, corsets…tits that just… _burst _from the clutches of said corset…"_

I put a stop to Emmett's fantasy fairly quickly. He didn't seem to understand the reason why I wouldn't want my 2 year old son becoming a witness to such slutty clothing. _He's gonna want to see a chick in it someday… _had been his only reason why Rosalie should wear such a ridiculous outfit.

"_So I could come as Leonardo from _'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'_? Or, oh, oh, oh… the _red _Power Ranger." _He gasped. "_Oh, ma jizz" _– did he really just say that? – _"the number of times I fought Edward over being him… and now I actually will be! Right, I have to go and get my outfit! Oh, and Bella?"_

"Yeah?"

"'_Let the power protect you'"_

"Um… thank you?"

"_Not a problem. Bye!"_

I barely had time to put the phone down before my attention was caught again. This time, by a little boy who had a very mischievous grin on his face – I didn't like the look of this. He ran up to me and jumped on the spot as if to say: "_hold me, woman!" _So I did.

"Maaaammaa." He squashed my cheeks together in the palm of his hands. Repeating 'mama' over and over in a sing-song fashion; swaying his head from side to side. He had been in Edward's care whilst I was on the phone to Emmett, so I wondered whether they were playing 'Hide and Seek' and coming to me had been his amazing hiding place.

"Where's daddy?"

Draco flattened his index finger against his lips. "Sssss, seeping."

"He's asleep?"

"Yea."

_I leave him for five minutes…_

"Come on then, munchkin. I think it's time he wakes up, don't you?"

"Yea."

"Yeah, me too."

_**xxx**_

"Are you mentally insane?" Edward gripped the costume I had picked for him tight in both hands. It's safe to say he wasn't best pleased with my choice. "Why couldn't I have been the one to decide who we go as?"

"I don't know… but not to worry, it's just for a couple of hours." Draco scurried around my legs like an excited puppy. He loved his costume, but you could have probably dressed the kid up as dog shit and he would have been just as overwhelmed with the whole thing. He prodded the plastic stickers on his left sleeve that were meant to act as buttons. "See, Draco likes it."

"That's because he's two!" Edward exclaimed. "Every little boy wants to dress up as Buzz Lightyear, but I don't know any fucking nineteen year old who dresses up as Woody the fucking Cowboy for fun!"

Now, there was no need for that language. "Hey, calm your temper. It's for a couple of hours, with your family who will all come dressed as a humiliating children's character. Don't forget that I'm dressing up as Jessie the Cowgirl, so we're both in the same boat. Now, go get dressed; we've got to get going soon." Edward mumbled something that sounded a lot like a curse word as he stood from his seat, shooting me deathly glares and continued to mumble, this time saying "_sleep with one eye open, Bella."_

_**xxx**_

It really made me happy to see that everyone followed the invitation rules and came dressed up as something. Esme and Carlisle were Papa Smurf and Smurfette – originally they had painted their faces blue, but it scared my little Space Ranger, so they washed it off. Alice and Jasper came as Betty and Barney Rubble – Alice had a skimpy blue dress on, but wore it with thick white tights, so she wasn't showing off her ass to the world. I was most surprised to see that Charlie had put the effort in too, coming along as Indiana Jones – with the whip and everything. Edward, begrudgingly, put on his party face and kept up his pretence, even though he had called his outfit '_something Jasper would wear if he were gay'. _Yeah, I don't understand either.

A car pulled up to the front drive, which meant our final guests had arrived. Rosalie looked about as happy as Edward… but I guessed it wasn't because of her outfit. She came as Cinderella (maid version) with her hair pulled back with a white scarf and wore a very boring, brown tunic with a white apron tied around the middle. I ask the simple question of: '_where's Emmett?' _and her face tenses with anger.

"I'm telling you, Bell. I am…_this close _to… _gah, _I don't even know a suitable punishment. I told him Prince Charming! Prince. Freaking. Charming. How hard is that?"

"I'm guessing he didn't come as Prince Charming…"

"No, he came as –"

A loud clatter and bang silenced us all (except Draco, who murmured in fight) which turned our attention to the front door.

"_I'M CHUCK FUCKING NORRIS!" _

Emmett stood proudly to attention, in tight blue jeans, a matching jean, button-up vest and what looked like army boots. He'd bought one of those fake beards (which would have made him look more like Santa had it been grey) and a black cowboy hat.

"What has Chuck Norris got to do with children's characters?" I asked, and then noticed my mistake. "If you're going to say some quirky line about how he invented TV by blinking or something, then don't bother answering."

Emmett looked at me as if to say '_the Hell have you been smoking?' _"Why would I say that? That's bullshit. But I might not ever get the chance to be him again, so I took the chance by the balls."

_Phew._

"But you know what does happen when he blinks?"

I couldn't tell if he was being serious or not. "Um, his eyelids close for the fraction of a second?"

"No, Microsoft Windows crashes."

Which nimrod came up with these? You must have some interesting life if that is what you spend your time doing. "That doesn't even make any sense."

"I know…but if Chuck Norris doesn't know it, it isn't worth knowing."

Edward came striding into the hallway. "Hey, Emmett, I like my women like I like my turtles; helpless when they're on their back." Not this again. Recently, they started this one-liner competition and whoever comes up with the best, wins.

Emmett took no time in responding. "I like my women like I like sentences; without periods."

"I like my coffee like I like my women; straight and black."

Emmett had an evil glint in his eye when he spoke. "I like my women Iike I like my wine; twelve years old and locked up in my basement. BAM! Emmett wins. Suck it."

_It's going to be a lo-ong day._

_**xxx**_

"Bella, do you know what I've been thinking?" Alice ambushed me as I was walking out of the bathroom. Having a quiet minute to yourself and then finding Betty Rubble staring up at you when you exit almost makes you head back _into _the restroom 'cause you, well… _shit yourself._

"Do I want to know what you've been thinking, Betty?"

Alice gave off that look which said '_har-har, you're so funny' _and pouted evilly. "Shut up, whore. I just think we should take our relationship to the next level."

"Oh… um… I'm very grateful and… honoured? But I don't exactly swing that way… and I thought everything was fine with Jasper?"

_Awkward… awkward…_

What are you meant to say when your best friend asks that sort of thing?

"_EWW! NO!" - Eww? Excuse me, but are you saying I'm 'eww'? – _"Jesus Bella, I wasn't saying I wanted us to become two little lesbians. _Ew! _Really? _Ew! _No. I _meant _you should become my sister."

_Oooh. Okay, that makes so much more sense. _"You'd have to ask Charlie (seeing as I am the only family he's got), but he likes you, he might let your parents adopt me. Oh, but then Edward would be Draco's dad/uncle and it'll all be too confusing…"

"Oh, my Prada handbag, are you serious? I _mean (again) _that you should marry my brother and then we'll be sisters!"

_Ahh… that does make a bit more sense. But again, we have a problem. _"I don't think Rosalie would be too pleased if I stole Emmett from her… and to be quiet honest, she could quite easily kill me with one punch. So, thanks, but no thanks."

"Or you just marry Edward."

_Betty Rubble say what? _"Edward?"

"Yes. Y'know, the giant cowboy in the other room who's flying his son around like Buzz Lightyear and… oh, my God, that's so cute." Alice and I both looked over to see Edward swoop Draco down towards the ground whilst quoting the famous line "_That's not flying, that's falling with style."_

"But why would I want to marry him? – apart from the obvious 'becoming your sister', of course."

"Because you have so much in common!"

"The only thing we have in common is two years old and currently dressed up in a space suit. You wouldn't exactly call it a match made in heaven. Anyway, it's been lovely talking to you, dear one." I can ace an English accent…

As I walked back to the party, Alice shouted: "_YOU KNOW I'M RIGHT! IT WILL HAPPEN SOONER OR LATER!" _Sadly, Alice isn't often wrong…

_**xxx**_

The party, which was meant to finish between four and five, was still going strong by seven. I decided to call it a day. Esme wrapped up the tiny remainder of Draco's birthday cake and the men helped load my truck with all his various presents. Edward came up to us before we left. "I'm going to stay and have a couple beers with Emmett and Jasper. That alright, or do you want me to help with him?"

"Oh, no you're alright thanks. I just have to give him and bath and get him to bed – you can see his eyes closing already." Draco was cuddled up into my side, his cheek resting on my shoulder and his hand clutched a lock of my hair that had slipped from my ponytail.

"As long as you are sure. But if things change, just gimme a text, yeah?"

"Absolutely."

Edward took his sleepy son from my arms and kissed him loudly on the forehead. "Happy birthday, buddy. I'll see you in the morning, 'kay? Love you. Gimme kisses?" –_aah, I loved it when they did that –_ "Atta, boy! Say 'bye-bye dad'?"

"Bye-bye… dad."

Draco fell asleep during the drive home, so I didn't want to awaken him for a bath (he could have one in the morning) so by eight-thirty, he was tucked up in bed, sleeping peacefully and I could get a bit of the housework completed. I found sleep a short hour later, and, let me tell you, after spending the day dressed as a cowgirl and trying to keep a birthday party up and running, the soft sheets and bouncy mattress feel better than…water in a desert.

_**xxx**_

_*Slam* "shit… fuck…" *smash* "ass-face-dick!" _From the second Edward slammed the front door and stumbled into one of the rooms downstairs, I've been wide awake and on high alert. The time was shortly after three in the morning, and by the sounds of things, he had had a bit more than a few beers.

_*Stomp* *stomp* *stomp* "aah, I really need a piss…" *stomp* *stomp* *stomp* "There are too many stairs… fuck 'em." *stomp* *stomp* *stomp*._

I listened intently to Edward's interesting trip to the bathroom and how he surprisingly managed to flush the toilet and wash his hands after. His stomping returned, but it sounded like it was getting closer and closer…

_*knock knock* "Beeeell-aaa…" *knock knock… knock…knock*_

I wanted to act asleep and maybe he would get the hint, but Edward's knocking was very persistent.

"What is it, Edward?"

My door swung open, revealing the hallway light I had kept on. Edward stumbled into the room, singing my name and swearing for no apparent reason. Instead of walking in a straight line, he made a more diagonal approach, falling into the wall a couple times.

"What are you doing?" I asked as he climbed onto my bed and crawled over the cover towards me. I was just a little nervous.

"Guess what, Bell-aaaaa." His breath stank highly of strong spirits and beer. "I'm just a little bit drunk…"

"I have noticed that. Now, it would be best if you went to your own bed and slept off the intoxication."

Edward drew an invisible line across my face with his finger. "You going to join… me?"

"No, because that is your bed, and this is my bed." _Why did I tell him I was awake? Why?_

"Y'know what I was thinkin'." He didn't give me the time to reply. "I was thinkin' about the last time I was drunk…drink-drunk…drunk… and so were you. You remember that, Bella? Remember the last time we… did it like they do it on the Discovery Channel?"

_Last time? I do recall it was the _only _time._

I had to put a stop to this before it got out of hand. "You need to go to bed, Edward. You don't know what you're saying."

"Yyyyyyy-ess I do." His hand snaked up the top of my arm. "We should have another baby. And I won't be an ass this time… and then another baby… and another… and own a farm… and a spider. Incy wincy spider, climbed the spater wout." I removed his hand that had no reached the base of my neck. He didn't like that. "Nooo… come on, I know you want to play."

"No I don't. Please, get off me. You're scaring me."

He lifted his heavy body up and straddled me. "I don't want to scare you, muffin."

"But you are, please get off me. I don't care if you're drunk. If you don't get off me now, I will ring Charlie and let him deal with you."

I don't care if that sounds too harsh and over the top; this is one thing I fear.

"Alright… fine… I'll leave you to be a prude." If this is what he's going to be like every time he has a night of drinking, I'm locking my bedroom door. "But you'll come running to me for my dick in no time."

Edward slammed my door with his exit. Draco's cry lightly echoes from his room. Needing the comfort, I collect him from his bed and take him back to my own, soothing his tears, as mine slip down my cheeks.

_A drunken mind speaks sober thoughts. _

_How I wish that line was false._

_**xxx**_

_**A/N—I already apologised for the delay, and because of my hectic life right now, it might be another wee delay till the next posting. But, trust me, things will get nice and flirty soon ;) I'm away to England in a few hours, and so I will be without the internet for a week, but I might try and get some writing done in the 6 hours that I'll be in the car. **_

_**Thoughts? Favourite character costume?**_

_**RosieRathbone xx**_


	18. Quiet

_**A/N- *PLEASE READ* I've just been to see Matilda the Musical live in London, and this opening song comes from the soundtrack. The lyrics are meant to seem like it is Draco's POV, so please read the lyrics, because I think they are perfect!**_

_**Long chapter ahead. This is personally my favourite, because of how everything changes…**_

_And when everyone shouts – they seem to like shouting -  
>The noise in my head is incredibly loud,<br>And I just wish they'd stop, my dad and my mum,  
>And the telly and stories would stop just for once.<em>

_I'm sorry – I'm not quite explaining it right,  
>But this noise becomes anger, and the anger is light,<br>And it's burning inside me would usually fade,  
>But it isn't today, and the heat and the shouting,<br>And my heart is pounding, and my eyes are burning,  
>And suddenly everything, everything is…<em>

_Quiet…_

'_**Quiet' – Lyrics by Tim Minchin (Matilda the Musical)**_

_**Edward.**_

"Daddyyy…"

"Go back to bed, Draco."

_It's way too early to be awake._

"Dad-dyyyyy."

It hurt to open my eyes. It hurt to focus on the tiny person next to me. It hurt to do any fucking thing that included my brain. It hurt when I noticed I was lying on top of my cover. It hurt to realise that I was still wearing my fucking Woody costume.

_The fuck happened last night?_

Damn Emmett and his '_we're just having a couple beers'. _Yeah, well somewhere during those 'couple beers' we came across Dad's liqueur cabinet and… well, kinda helped ourselves. God knows how I got home and God knows what time at, at least I got home without causing any harm… I think.

Draco wouldn't stop calling my name and quite frankly, I couldn't hack it a second longer. I wrapped an arm around his stomach and pulled him onto the bed beside me. It didn't take him long to fall back to sleep, cuddled up to my side. I didn't stay conscious for long after that.

_**xxx**_

"_Draco Dale, you stop that right – ow! No, you do not bite mummy."_

I know I should get out of bed and go and help… but, to be quite honest, staying asleep sounds like the better plan. I stayed in bed for an additional thirty minutes – it was the sound of something smashing, Bella groaning and Draco screaming that finally pulled me from the comfort. I changed out of my gay cowboy outfit and into some grey sweats and a black wife beater, the thick white socks I had on had done me well for the past couple of days and they didn't smell – that badly – so I kept them on. I sprayed myself with some expensive shit that claims to have women falling from the sky, just 'cause some guy is wearing it. Well, that is what happens on the commercial, but I've never had chicks fall from the sky for me.

The scene downstairs was worse than I imagined. There was ripped up paper all over the floor, one of Draco's cups had been thrown to the ground and sticky apple juice had spread everywhere. Draco's screams became louder, _"NO! NO!" _ I took a step back and watched in horror as Bella carried him, his back, up tight against her chest, legs swinging and kicking her without a care in the world. I could tell, just by looking at her bright red face, that whatever Draco just did had been the straw that broke the donkey's back.

I followed silently behind, like a ghost. Bella sat him down on a tiny chair in the corner of the dining room, she held onto his knee and his arm – to stop him from escaping. She kneeled down so they were eye-level with each other and spoke with earnest. "You will sit here until I come back and get you. Do not move from this spot."

We had discussed the 'naughty seat', but never had we had the need to use it. I personally thought he was too young to sit on it, but Bella thought differently. Right now he was sporting a deathly glare – I think he stole that from me. Bella stood up and shrieked when she saw me standing behind her. She shook her head, almost in disgust and tore out the room. The fuck have I done? I didn't tell him to act like a little shit, why take it out on me? For fuck sake, woman.

Draco ran before me, heading for the stairs, crying loudly. I reached him before Bella could but as I went to grab him, I heard her say: "Don't touch him. Leave him alone." Fuck that. I took Draco back to his seat, ignoring the threats coming behind me. Forty seven long minutes it took for Draco to sit until we said he could leave. But not after a hug, kiss and apologising. He played with his new toys quietly, acting like none of this had happened. Bella sat back on the couch, pinching the bridge of her nose tightly, an obvious set of teeth marks had bruised her arm badly and angry, red scratches ran down her other arm, one of the scratches had even broken the skin.

I took the spare space next to her. "Are you okay?" I stroked the evil scrapes, but she jerked away from me after the tiniest touch.

"Don't touch me." She spat, menacingly.

"Excuse me? I only wanted to know if you were alright. What have I done to make you so snappy?"

Bella laughed, "What have you done? You don't remember do you? You don't have a single clue."

Um, no. Clearly not, or else I wouldn't be this confused right now. "Have a clue about what? I don't understand what you're saying."

"You don't remember stumbling into my room after heavily drinking, crawling onto my bed, refusing to leave and scaring the living shit out of me?" Oh, Christ. "You don't remember lying on top of me, calling me a prude and saying I would want your dick soon enough, and the only thing that got you to stop was me threatening to phone my dad." Oh, my God. I'm such a fucking prick.

I rubbed my hands roughly down my face. "I'm so, so sorry. I wouldn't ever want to scare you like that and I didn't mean a word I said." I've always been told that I do crazy shit when I'm drunk, but I never would have thought I would do something like this.

"So you were lying when you said you wanted to have lots and lots of kids and a farm and a spider?"

_Fuck. _

I said that?

The kids part, I mean.

'Cause, I mean, I have been thinking about it. And I don't want Draco to be the only one, but it's something I've kept inside my head, and I didn't want anyone (especially Bella) to know this right now. Well shit, the cats out the bag now thanks to my fucking incapability to keep my mouth shut after a few drinks.

"I-um-well-I…"

"_MUMMY!" _

_Saved by the bell._

Bella groaned – she needed a rest from the world for a minute. So I came up with a plan to give Bella a rest and to get myself out of the sticky situation I had been landed in.

I went to put a caring hand on her shoulder, but I pulled it back quickly – _best not to push it, Cullen. _"I'm going to take him out for the day; allow you to rest and forget everything that just happened, okay?"

"Are you sure? What if he throws another fit?"

"Then I'll take him to go see my parents or something, I dunno, I'll think of something."

As Bella responded with an appreciative smile, a tiny body ran into my legs, Draco smiled up at me. "Hi!"

"Hey buddy, we're going to go on a trip, you excited?"

"Mummy?"

"Mummy will stay here. Just me and you, 'kay?"

Instead of answering me, he chuckled and ran away.

He has too much energy.

Seriously, God knows how he manages to run everywhere – I'm finding it hard enough to walk.

It took me the best part of twenty minutes to get him suited and booted, half of that time was spent trying to find the little pest - I must remember under the covers on Bella's bed next time we play 'Hide and Seek'.

_**xxx**_

Okay, so I decided that whilst I'm on this outing with my son, I will get something to apologise and make Bella feel that little bit better. But the thing is I don't have any idea how to do this, how to say 'I'm sorry for being a dick, forgive me?' with an item. But I know someone who is an expert in this situation.

"_This better be important, I need to take a shit."_

Nice to hear from you too, Emmett. "I need to apologise to Bella, what do you do to Rosalie when you've been put in the dog house?"

Emmett guffawed loudly for a few seconds. _"Ha-ha-ha! You so need to tell me what you did, brother." _I told him a simplified version – not including the 'I want lots of babies' part. _"The fuck? She got pissed at you for that? I do that to Rose all the time."_

I didn't doubt that he did. "But your relationship with Rose is a little different than ours."

"_Right, but you weren't fucking undressing her or trying to rape her."_

"Well she's got a phobia about that sort of thing, so I can see why it would scare the shi-… scare her." I adjusted my choice of words, remembering who sat behind me. "Whatever, that isn't the point. What should I get her?"

"DADDY!" I turned slightly in my seat to look back at Draco, who looked more than a little agitated in having to wait for so long. He kicked his little black Adidas clad feet and slapped his knees.

"I'm just talking to Uncle Emmett, buddy. I won't be long, 'kay?"

"BAH-BAH-POH!"

"_Is that my little man I hear? Drakey, how you doing dude? How's the chicks?"_

"Emmett, please don't mention my son and girls."

"_Ha! Who are you fucking kidding? With our genes, and if he follows in _your _footsteps, you'll be a granddad in fourteen years."_

Emmett laughed hysterically. I almost cried hysterically.

"_Sorry, that was wrong."_

"Hell yes it was."

"_I meant sixteen."_

_**xxx**_

So I finally got an answer from Emmett, and he said that flowers are always a good place to start. Which is why I am currently parked outside a garden centre I never fucking knew excited with a son who somehow came across my black, square-rimmed, nerd glasses I wore to a party way before he was even born. Said son has been thoroughly entertaining himself by putting the glasses on, laughing, then taking them off – _rinse, lather, repeat. _ If someone came up to me and gave me the opportunity to win one million dollars by simply naming ten types of flowers, I would fail miserably. So, for that reason alone, I Googled flowers and their meanings; knowing me, I would pick one that meant death or shit like that.

'_Flowers to say sorry with' _I typed into the Google search box on my iPhone. It came up with a selection of flower delivery services. I quickly deleted the words. '_flower meanings' –_because my stupid, fucking brain couldn't think of that first. After clicking on a promising looking link, I read meanings like '_aspiring, dramatic, fragile'. _Dear God, I'm close to just getting her chocolates. I don't even know what half these words mean.

Aah, this seems promising '_forgiveness'. _

White. That's all it said, not a name of flower, just that white ones mean you're sorry.

_Fuck sake._

Ooh, hang on a second. The page had a 'suitable flower for your birthday' part, and under the month of September, it said 'Aster, Forget-Me-Not'. The picture of Asters came up and they looked like large Daisies – _yes, shock horror, Edward knows a type of flower! – _Plus, they are white! Score. One-nil to me.

"You're looking very stylish today, buddy." I complimented my boy (as well as Bella's dressing skills) when taking him from his car seat. I think even Alice would be impressed with this outfit – a smart, white dress shirt, black waistcoat and black jeans, along with his Adidas shoes and the new addition of my glasses (which he refused to take off) he looked like a little model. A chill wind was picking up, so I helped him slip on his grey, cotton duffle coat – but left it unbuttoned so we could all see his shirt and waistcoat.

"Raaaaaaah!" He screamed whilst being placed into his push chair. "_No! No Daddy! No!"_

"Fine, you don't have to sit in it. But you're holding my hand the entire time."

Knowing my luck, I'll fucking lose him.

_**xxx**_

"Daddy!"

I tore myself away from the various flower beds in front of me and looked down at my son. _Shit!_ "Draco, what the hell are you doing?" The little tear-away had pulled the heads off of a whole pot of flowers – blue petals now littered the floor. Taking him firmly by the hand, I walked away briskly before I was made to pay for the damage.

After all the time I spent on the internet, I was re-thinking the idea of white. It seems a bit, I dunno, boring as shit? Like, I remember family friends coming over and giving my mum flowers – they were always bright and colourful, that stood out and makes a place look 'pretty'. Perhaps I should follow that road. "What is mummy's favourite colour?" Like Draco was going to step up and list off a selection of colours – _"mauve, mink, burgundy and turquoise' – _but it was worth a shot. "Red? Does mummy like red?"

"Rrrr'd."

"Or… yellow?"

"Hello."

"Meh, that'll do." Draco was sitting on the ground by my feet, playing, once again, with my glasses. "I think I'll go for yellow… or pink? Yeah, pink looks nice. Actually no, yellow. Definitely yellow. What do you think…_FUCK!"_

You know how I said he was by my feet…

Yeah, he isn't anymore.

_Um… anyone know where my son has gone?_

Fuck. I'm dead.

"Draco… Buddy?" I looked under the tables, down the different aisles and in the toy section, but he was no-where to be found. Fuck, fuck, shit, fuck, shitting shit, fuck! Bella is going to kill me. And probably cut off my balls before she does so.

I can just see it now…

'_How was your trip?'_

'_Fine. I lost him. No big deal.'_

I mean, how did I not feel him moving from my feet? And how can a toddler move that quickly? It doesn't make any sense! I have never felt so much worry and fear than I have right now. Images of the police searching under every fucking rock popped into my head. Images of Bella stabbing me to death never left my mind.

"Draco…"

Come on, this isn't funny anymore. Where the hell have you disappeared?

_**Shop Assistant POV.**_

I hear kids crying every day – 'cause no kid likes coming to a boring place like this – but it's not often I hear a cry that is sad, but full of worry and pain at the same time. The noise came from behind one of the water features outside the back of the shop near the sheds and gazeboes. Also, why would a child be _behind _a water feature? I decided to take a look, and near enough began to cry myself. A little boy with soft brown hair and adorable black glasses (much too large for his face) sat hunched up against the back fence bawling his eyes out with the face as red as a tomato. It's clear in an instant that he can't find his parents.

I kneeled down, trying my bed not to scare him, and placed a caring hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay, honey?"

"Da-da-da-ddy…" He spluttered out through his crying.

"Have you lost your daddy? Would you like me to help you find him?"

"Daddy…" They were the only words he spoke, and could even be the only words he knew. I helped the little one up off of the ground and brushed off any dirt that stuck to his trousers. I had a clean tissue in my pocket which I took out to wipe his tears and his snotty nose. After a bit of persuasion, he allowed me to pick him up and carried him to the customer service desk. I looked around as I walked, in case I found a very worried father running around the shop, but I didn't.

I hadn't ever used the tannoy for a 'if-you've-lost-your-child' announcement, but the basics were kind of common sense. The little boy continued to cry. "Can you tell me your name?" I ask, and then think that question could be too confusing for someone of his age. "What's your name?"

"Dra-Drah-co."

Damn, why couldn't his name be something simple like… Tom, or Ben…

What if I get his name wrong in the tanoy and the dad doesn't understand I'm talking about his son?

I repeat my question.

I get the same response.

Then again, how many customers in here right now have lost their son? If they hear a call for a child being found, they'd come looking anyway, right? And if I say the name like he pronounces it, surely, the dad would be used to hearing it being said that way anyway. Whatever, I can't stand this boy looking so scared.

I clear my throat before pressing the button on the speaker. "_This is a customer announcement. Could Drah-co's father please come to the Customer Service desk where his son is waiting for him." _

"Don't worry little one, your daddy knows where you are now."

Not five minutes after my announcement went live a guy came into my view. He looked…well, basically he looked like shit. Full of worry and his hair resembled Einstein's. This has got to be 'daddy'. Or, he's 'big brother', 'cause he looked young enough to be. He sprinted up to the desk, out of breath and mumbled something about '_where's my son?'_

_**Edward POV**_

The lady behind the desk smiled happily as she bent down and brought Draco up onto the surface between us. I could have cried. Oh, my God what a nightmare. I can't remember ever hugging him as tight as I did at that moment. "Oh, my God Draco, don't ever do that to me again. I love you too much, buddy." I then remembered we had an audience. I spoke directly to the lady who, literally, saved my balls. "I cannot thank you enough… I just… thank you."

Her eyes had glazed over slightly. "It's my pleasure, I'm just happy to help."

He's never leaving my sight again.

_**xxx**_

"Ooh, look at that one!" We were looking at the brightly coloured fish in the pet shop part of the store. Draco was very interested in a large, fat goldfish with white bulging eyes and a long, flimsy tail. "His tail is cool, isn't it?" He followed the direction in which the fish swam with his finger, not taking any interest in anything I was saying.

"_Daddy, daddy! Look at this one, daddy! Can I have this one, please?" _I looked over at the little girl in a pink ballerina outfit with long, flowing blonde hair, dragging her dad over to the hamsters and mice. I couldn't help but smile, picturing myself in that situation. A bouncing, happy girl calling _me _daddy. Looking at a baby and thinking: '_you're my daughter, you're not going to kiss a boy until you get married'. _Perhaps Draco and his sister going to the same school, he'll be the protective big brother who knee's a boy in the nads for simply looking at his baby sister.

Or what about another boy? Taking Draco and his brother to Little League soccer on Saturday mornings – maybe teaching the class and making sure my sons have the best position on the pitch. Bella could be sitting in the stalls with a sign she hand painted the night before say 'Go Draco, Go *insert other name here*'. Breaking up their arguments over not sharing the games console controller as they play a game Bella would not approve of.

Or what if we had another boy _and _a girl? Bella could take our daughter out shopping and come home – daughter balanced on her hip – to find me play wrestling in the back garden with our sons. We could have barbeques during the warm summer evenings; daughter sitting like a polite little angel, drinking her juice sweetly whilst her older brothers throw food at one another and call each other names…

Fuck, these thoughts aren't doing me any good.

"Come on buddy, time to go home."

I balance Draco and the flower I bought Bella (something yellow that smelt nice) out of the store.

I didn't let Draco out of my sight until he was safely home and running off to play with his toys.

Bella didn't find out about my… misplacing of our son, and she fucking loved the flowers.

Two-nil to Edward.

_**xxx  
>Bella POV<strong>_

Draco prodded my stomach with a finger. "Babyyy!" He squealed with an over-excited face. Edward, who had been happily watching our interaction, now did a double-take and gawked at my middle. Of course, Draco didn't take in the reaction from his father and continued to speak his new saying: "Momma baby."

"The f-ck? You're pregnant?" At first, Edward had a hint of excitement in his eyes, but then the expression changed and his face fell slightly. We've only slept with each other once, and result of that is still prodding my stomach, so if I was pregnant, it obviously wouldn't be his child. I never knew someone could literally look 'as white as a ghost' until now.

"No of course I'm not. His friend's mum just had a baby, so the nursery talked to them all about it."

Edward blew out a sigh of relief. I thought it wold have calmed him down, but I was wrong again. "He's two! What fucking retard is teaching my son about sex and the consequences when he doesn't even know what a dick is!"

Seriously? "I think the idiot here if you, Edward. They didn't tell him how babies are made, just that they come from the mummy's tummy. We've got another ten years before he learns about the scientific stuff."

"Ha!" Edward boomed a short laugh. "Don't you think it's funny how he knows that you're, like, his mum and you have them and all, and then he knows that I'm his dad, but he doesn't know I hold the main ingredients."

He lost me after '_don't you think it's funny'. _"What?"

After a quick roll of the eyes, he tried again. "He thinks babies just appear, right?"

"Right."

"And he has no idea that the 'daddy' has any involvement in the process. So, its kinda funny to think that you females just pick some random fool off the street to help them with their miracle baby. Funny, eh?"

I still didn't get it. "Yeah! That one's a… that's funny."

"You still don't get it, do you?" Damn, why must I be so transparent?

"Um… no."

Edward shook his head with a heavy sigh. "Hey buddy!" Draco perked his head like a meerkat. Edward dropped to his knees and held out his arms. "Gimme some lovin'?" Our boy ran across the floor with his favourite toy elephant in, straight into his daddy's embrace. "Who is this?" Edward shook the elephants paw.

"Mine!"

"Does he have a name?"

Draco peered at his elephant in thought, grabbing the trunk in his fist and shaking it around vigorously. "Drah-co!"

"Draco? Draco the elephant?"

"Yea!"

"Is this your favourite toy?"

"Yea."

"Do you love him?"

"Yea."

"Do you love… me?"

"Yea."

"Do you love… mummy?"

A sheepish smile crossed Draco's features. "Momma baby…"

"Mummy isn't having another baby, buddy."

He didn't seem to understand. "Baby…"

"Would you want mummy to have another baby?"

"Yea."

Edward gave me a knowing grin. I didn't like the look of this. "You would be a big brother."

"Drah-co."

"Yeah, Draco would be a big brother. We should name the next one Crabbe or Goyle."

This is when I cut in. "Hold on a second, Edward. I'm not having another baby. Please don't fill his head with things that won't come true."

"I'm not, and how do you know they won't come true?" What is it with him and wanting a second child all of a sudden? Who has been putting these ideas in his head? "We all know you're fooling yourself."

He's just like a child himself. So persuasive. "Edward, I'm not having another baby. Please, stop going on about it."

"Aw come on, what would be so bad about it? You know we can afford it."

For Christ's sake. "We're nineteen! We are still kids ourselves and the locals would think that we were never taught about condoms or other forms of birth control."

"Who gives a fuck what they think? I honestly think we could do this. I want to be a daddy again; I want two munchkins running to me after work. I want Draco to be the older, protective big brother; I don't want to wait and leave a large age gap between them."

Traitor tears pooled in my eyes. "I'm scared…" I spoke honestly, my voice breaking slightly as the tears dropped. Edward jumped to his feet and took my hand in his.

"What are you scared about? You think I'd leave you and run? I know I was an ass before, but I've changed now. I wouldn't do that to you, Bella. I never could."

This is the first time anyone would have heard my biggest fear. "I'm scared that I'll… that it'll happen again…" more tears fell.

"That what'll happen again?" He soon got it. "Oh Bella, you can't let that stop you from getting what you want. It's very rare for that thing to happen in the first place. I fully understand how traumatic it is/was and how scared you are, but if that is truly the only reason you don't want another baby, then you could have a C-Section. Imagine it Bella, me teaching Draco how to ride a bike whilst you stand and watch with a chubby thing in your arms. Or taking them on holiday; splashing each other at the pools or racing one another down the water slides."

I did imagine that – all too clearly. For some reason, I saw myself holding a girl with large, wide brown eyes, brown hair that sat to her ears and curled at the ends and a big smile with half her tongue sticking out. The image seemed glued to my mind. I couldn't rub it away.

_I want that girl._

"What?"

_Shit, I said that out-loud, didn't I?_

"Yes, you did." Edward smirked.

_Gahh!_

Just repeat it, you've already said them aloud anyway.

_*Deep breath*_

_1…2…3_

_No! No, I can't do it._

Yes, I can.

Okay, come on. Four words. Say those four words and that's it.

_Inhale…_

…_Exhale._

"I…"

Oh! So close!

"You what Bella?"

"..I… I want… I want another baby."

_**xxx**_

_**A/N—Who 'aww'ed? Who laughed? Who cried? **_

_**Funny story, I was thinking if (IF) they had a girl what I would call her, and I thought 'aww… I like the name Harriet', but then realised their kids would be called Draco and Harri. HA-HA-HA, complete coincidence, I laughed for about 20 minutes straight… **_

_**Thoughts?  
>RosieRathbone<br>xx**_


	19. No Boundaries

_Ohh  
>Seconds, hours, so many days,<br>You know what you want but how long can you wait,  
>Every moment lasts forever,<br>When you feel you've lost your way,  
>What if my chances were already gone?<br>I started believing that I could be wrong,  
>But you gave me one good reason,<br>To fight and never walk away,  
>So here I am still holding on.<em>

_**No Boundaries – Adam Lambert cover.**_

_**Bella**_

Oh dear, the time has arrived; the time and moment I have been dreading, but also looking forward to (in a strange way) since the day Draco was born. Hell, since the day I read the results on the pregnancy test. I guess, as soon as it's all said and done for, I can relax. I just wonder how many tantrums and paper towels we will go through. Toilet training an often disobedient child is going to be interesting. But it has to be done unless I want him to be still in diapers when he goes to school.

The baby book I was following had advised you to ask your mother or friend for help if this is your first time and they had been through it before. Seeing as I don't know any friends with children and Renee hasn't contacted me in years, I skipped that part out. Charlie has tried to get me to send my mother regular updates on her only grandson, but as soon as I told her I was pregnant, she stopped emailing and phoning. Of course I sent her a card which told her I had had a boy, his full name, date of birth and all the rest, but I never heard anything back, so why bother my time when she doesn't put in any effort?

Not the point, Edward and I will be just fine, even though he's been working a lot recently, we will get this sorted and we'll deal with Draco's refusals and anything else he may bring along. We just have to be patient and firm. Our creative side was put to the test last night when we made his reward chart – every time he uses the potty properly, he'll get a sticker. Twenty stickers and he will get a treat. Edward was adamant about calling it 'Poop and Pee with Draco C', but I got him to see that 'Draco's Potty Chart' sounded better.

In Target, Draco seemed attached to a 'Cars' potty which became a toilet safety seat in the later days. I also liked the look of the one that had a slot for wipes and a toilet paper holder, but that would be fifty dollars just on those two and I simply couldn't afford that right now. Slipping money from my savings isn't something I liked doing, but I felt guilty getting Edward to pay for most things.

"Which one do you like more?" I held up a set of animal stickers and a set of car stickers. Draco looked from me, to them and back to me again. "Do you like these ones?" I shook the animal pack. He only chuckles and clapped his hands excitedly – he hasn't been talking much today. He reacted the same way for the cars, so I just decided to get both – one can never have too many stickers.

I only came into the store for a potty and stickers, but left with a whole new outfit for my boy – I can't help but treat him to things. It included a pair of jeans shorts and khaki shorts with little black skull and cross bones all over them, a red tee with 'Where's Waldo' on the front that said 'Dude! I'm right here!' in black capitals. I also bought a pair of black, well gripped, lace-up boots. What? They were reduced from twenty dollars to nine-ninety-eight. I left the store before I could do any more damage to my bank balance.

_**xxx**_

I had the potty all set up and sitting in front of Draco and myself. I sat in silence, not making any movements towards it. Draco, on the other hand, stood to his feet and gingerly walked up to the odd looking contraption. He enjoying slamming down the lid and repeating the motion. Once he lost interest, I took over in helping him understand what it was for. Picking him up under his arms, I sat him on the potty.

"When you need to go pee-pee, you sit here and do it. You don't go pee-pee in your diaper anymore."

I decided to see whether he was wet or dry, and found a dry diaper. So I took off his trouser and diaper and sat him on the potty. I couldn't tell you how long we sat there for, but whenever he sat still and tensed his face, I checked to see if he had done anything. I never found a… present waiting for me. Draco couldn't stand sitting there any longer, so ran off to play in his toy area. Not five minutes after he did that, he stood up and began to whinge. I thought it could have been due to the fact that he was half naked, but no, after the short rounding of whinging, I swore silently as he instantly peed all over the floor. I really need a lot of patience for this. I guess I should just be thankful it was only a pee.

_**xxx**_

The potty training has begun, but of course it won't happen over-night, so I wanted to try something else, I was interested in seeing how well Draco could pronounce his full name. With the right amount of teaching, children could learn any word, so let's start from the beginning. Also, imagine Edward's face if he comes home to hear his son saying 'Cullen'. It's got to pull at your heart strings a bit, eh?

Macaroni cheese and tomatoes was on the lunch menu for today, sitting at the table was the best time to put my plan to motion. But first, I had the privilege in watching Draco eat a bowl of messy, cheesy pasta. He literally chucks the spoon to the floor, takes a handful of macaroni and splats it against his mouth – ten points if he manages to eat any. He then decided that eating is easier when the food is on the tray table and not in the bowl, the cheese sauce was spread over every surface he could reach.

I started once I had cleaned up all the mess. "Can you say 'Draco'?"

"Drrrrah-co."

"Dray-co." He took a long sip from his cup. "Dray. Co. Can you say Dray-co?"

"Mmmmummy!"

I had to laugh at his cuteness. "Yes, I am mummy, but what is your name?"

"DrrrAH-coooo."

"Dr-ay-co." I pronounced each part clearly for him to hopefully copy.

"…Ay-co!"

That was the closest so far. "Clever boy! Now add a 'dr' in front. Dr-ay-co, Drrraco."

"Dr…ay-co!"

Oh I felt so proud. I pronounced his name several more times, but he kept saying it the same way, so I tried his surname. "Now, this one is a bit trickier. Can you say 'Cullen'? Cul-lennn."

"…L'nnn…"

I had the urge to do an Alice-excited-clap. "You're nearly there, sweetheart. Cull…"

"…C'll."

"Len."

"…L'nnn."

Oh, my God my teaching methods are working. "Yaaay!" I clapped my hands happily, which he copied with a large, toothy smile. "Can you say 'Cullen'?"

Draco was still smiling. "…a-lullen." He spoke quietly, like he was shy.

"Good boy! Can you say 'Draco Cullen'?"

"A-drahcolullen."

_Eeeeh! _I nearly burst with excitement and I wanted to sing and dance and shout from the rooftops and get everybody to hear him. Oh, my God I could… _aaah _I felt so much pride! And now I sounded like Alice, which scared me slightly, but…_oooh _it was so exciting. Look what I did! I taught him his name! Now he just needs to learn how to do the 'Time Warp' and he is all set for life.

I wanted to ring Edward right now and tell him, but no, it had to be a surprise. "Your name is Draco Cullen. Can you say it once more for mummy? Draco Cullen."

"Drrrr-aco Lullennn."

_I will not scream. I will not scream. I will not scream._

_Oh, who am I kidding? _

Later that afternoon, I put the penguin movie 'Happy Feet' on for Draco to enjoy and I got down to some essay writing. Well, I tried to, anyway. First of all, I freaking love this movie – you can't beat dancing penguins – and secondly, Draco dancing alongside Mumble, Gloria and all the others is far too cute and entertaining. I snapped a picture on my phone which showed him getting right into the dancing and loaded it up onto Facebook with the caption: '_Someone has Happy Feet.' _I tagged Edward in the picture, so he has a collection on his site.

Draco stamped his feet, copying Mumble as best he could, and spun around giggling and clapping at his own achievement. I left the room for five minutes to take a trip to the bathroom, and returned to find something cuter than the scene before. I know, I didn't think it was possible either! The movie had been forgotten about and Draco had taken my phone hostage and was holding it up to his ear, mumbling away to himself like he was actually on the phone. I didn't have to worry about him actually phoning someone, because I had set a password and even if he had somehow unlocked it, I doubt a two-year-old could work an iPhone.

"Who are you talking to?"

Draco stared at me, and then held out the phone. "Ed-ded."

Did he say… Edward?

I guess the number of times I'd say Edward's name in a day would stick in Draco's mind – remember how quickly he picked up piss and dick? – I'm just interested in knowing if Draco knows who Edward is. Surely, he'd only know him as daddy…

"Are you talking to Edward?"

"Yea!" He put the phone back to his ear and continued to murmur.

"Who is Edward?"

"BYE!" He threw my phone to the floor and shuffled on his behind over to my feet. "Mummy…"

I pulled him to my lap and cuddled him tight, rocking us from side to side for a minute. "Who is Edward, sweetheart?" I didn't get a response, so took the photo frame from the table to our right and held it in front of us. The photo was Edward carrying Draco on his side and pretending to bite his little fingers. Draco had a large smile and a sparkle in his eyes. "Is this Edward?"

"Nooo!"

That wasn't the response I expected. "It's not? Who is this?"

"…Da-daddy Lullen a-a Drah-co Lullen."

Okay, okay. Cutest moment right here. Why didn't I record it?

"You are a very, very clever boy and I love you so much." I kissed his crown loudly.

"Mummy?"

"Yes?"

Draco smiled sheepishly and pointed at me. "Mum-mumm-mummy Lullen…"

Would I be correct in saying that he's a bit too young to learn the finer details?

For now, I'll just stick with being a 'Lullen'.

_**xxx**_

_**Edward**_

Whoever said that size doesn't matter was clearly mistaken.

Because it does, without the shadow of a doubt, it fucking does. I mean, I'm a _large _guy. No need to brag or anything, I've been told I go for the larger size out of the options in front of me.

But do I go for Chicken Tikka or Meatball Marinara?

Subway is the devil's incarnate when it comes to deciding the filling.

And it has to be a foot long, 'cause, like I said, I'm a _large _guy.

I'll definitely need this Subway goodness in my veins for what I'm about to do. I swear, even Houdini or some fucking dare devil wouldn't attempt what I'm going to do. Okay, I'll fill you in. See, I've pulled some strings and managed to get tomorrow off work – normally I only do this for days that Draco is home so I can spend quality time with him, but he'll be at daycare all day and, as long as Bella doesn't have any plans, we'll be alone… I want to show her how dedicated I can be to something – I didn't exactly have the best reputation for treating girls with respect at high school. All day, I had been thinking about all the 'charming' things I could do to show my respect… and maybe, in time, get into her pants… but that will be a last resort… maybe.

_Come on, dude, stop being a girl and put your poor junior to use._

Moving swiftly on, I'm going to attempt to ring Charlie (yes, Chief fucking Swan) and see if he could distract Bella for the day whilst I make a nice meal for her… or… I dunno – I didn't get that far into my planning. The thing is I've never phoned Charlie, not even for the slightest thing, but I had his number on my phone because Bella wanted us to be 'good parents' and have the contact details for all of Draco's grandparents. I just have to relocate my balls and go head first into the metaphorical fire.

"_Hello?" _Holy shit fuck, he sounds fucking terrifying.

"Er, hi Charlie, it's Edward." _Yeah, 'cause you don't sound like a quivering little girl or nothing. _Shut the fuck up.

"_Edward? Are you alright?" _

"Oh I'm fine, I was just wondering whether you could do me a favour?"

"_A favour? I don't have to bust you out of jail do I, son?"_

"Oh! No, nothing like that! Do you think you could distract Bella somehow tomorrow?" I highly suggest rethinking my words before I speak them.

"_And why do I need to distract her?" _I swear it's like that story of the ferocious lion cornering a trembling mouse. I am, of course, said mouse.

"Ha! I should have mentioned that first, eh?"

"_Yes."_

Gulp.

"I would like to make Bella a nice meal or do something appreciative, but I would prefer it to be a surprise, and if she's out of the house, it would be a surprise."

"_That is genuinely the idea of a surprise, Edward."_

Okay, why is he acting like such a dick? I'm trying to do something nice for his daughter, c'mon man, give me some respect, yeah?

Fuck, I hope I didn't just say that out loud.

"Er, indeed" (does that sound cheeky?) "so… do you think you could do that?"

"_I'll think about it."_

Oh, for fucks sake.

"Okay… er… thanks."

We ended our conversation at that moment; I considered working my charm on a chick behind the counter at some off market and buying some alcohol underage – 'cause you need some liquid confidence after dealing with that shite. However the last thing I need is to get caught and have a conversation with Charlie all over again, but this time I'd be in a jail cell. Hence why I indicated out of the lay-by and drove home to see my boy.

_**xxx**_

There is no superior sight than the sight of a toddler, dressed in Superman pyjamas, running straight towards you and screaming your name because they're happy to see you. Draco flung himself at my knees and wrapped his arms around my legs like a boa constrictor. Shit dude, I may need my legs later on in life. Bella sauntered over slowly, with a content smile, taking in our reunion with a sense of awe floating in her eyes. We said our 'hello's through simple smiles and went back to greeting our son.

"Raaaaah!" I threw Draco into the air and caught him tight to my chest, blowing raspberries against his cheeks until he squealed in delight. "Did you miss me, buddy?"

"Yyyyyea…"

"I missed you too." He played patty cake with my cheeks, and giggled when I puffed them out.

"Draco, are you going to show daddy what you learnt today?" He turned his attention to Bella and shot her an expression which pretty much read: '_the hell are you on about, mother?' _"Can you say, Draco Cullen?" We both stood in anticipation, waiting to hear whether he could repeat the words or not. I prayed for the former. To hear him announce my surname would fill my heart with pride. He stared at his fingers and smiled as they wiggled.

"Can you say Draco Cullen?" Maybe he'll respond to me instead.

"Ah-ah-ah-ayco… Lullen."

If I smiled right now, it would definitely mark the skin. I kissed his cheek loudly and repeated how much I loved him and how proud of him I was. I mean, he fucking said Cullen! He can now identify himself as part of our family.

"Daddy?"

"Yeah, buddy?"

He covered the tip of my nose with his palm. "Da-daddy Lullen, a-a-a mumm-mummyyy Lullen."

It surprised me how he could link our names together. How he understands that 'Cullen' (or, Lullen) is a way to separate families; that he knew we were related and the names 'mummy' and 'daddy' meant something special. Well, it seemed that way to me. I could be talking a load of shit.

After we praised Draco for how well he had done today and once Bella had asked me whether I wanted any dinner (I declined, that foot long is still digesting itself) I took Draco upstairs, assisted in him cleaning his little teeth, told him a very short story and sat by his bed for a while as he dosed off to sleep. Whatever they had been doing today had taken its toll; he was out like a light within minutes.

Bella was on the phone to Charlie when I went back downstairs. She ended their conversation with a: '_will do. See you at nine then. Bye dad, love you.' _Ooh, that sounded promising…

"So, how was work?" She lay back on the couch alongside me, twisting her head to the side to face me.

"Urgh." I groaned into my hands. "Some people can't seem to grasp the concept that their car is a piece of fucking trash and it would be kind to let it go into the nearest junk yard instead of practically fighting me over driving it. But, on the up side, I have the day off tomorrow."

Bella gasped, sitting straight upright. "You do? How did you manage that?"

I shrugged, "meh, I pulled a few strings."

"And you have Friday off as well?"

"Yup! Pretty sweet deal, ain't it?"

"Wow, that's brilliant Edward. We should have planned a day out or something, but I'm afraid I have to help Charlie paint his shed tomorrow. If I knew you had the day off I wouldn't have accepted it."

Painting his shed? Bella must be seriously gullible if she bought that shit without a second thought. "Not to worry, Bella, I'm so tired I'll probably want to catch up on some much needed sleep anyway. What with a day without the tiny tear-away."

She laughed delicately, "I know exactly what you mean. I'll be taking Draco to daycare and then going to help Charlie at nine, so you can have all the peace and quiet you want from eight-thirty."

"Sounds outstanding." I grinned, knowing all too well that I won't be relaxing…

_**xxx**_

_**Next day**_

_**Bella**_

The last time I had this much paint covering me, I couldn't have been any older than six. I painted a shed – I wouldn't even call it a shed; a large cardboard box sounds more appropriate, however even then, I finished with decorative splodges on my face, hands, arms, knees, feet and even my ass – I sat on the lid… but now I can go home, have a nice soak in the bath have an enjoyable evening with my boy and maybe even see if Edward could go to the diner to pick up dinner for us. He sent me a text saying not to worry about picking Draco up, because he had it sorted, I thought it was cute he wanted to pick his son up from daycare.

Walking through the front door, I expected to see the clear signs of Edward spending the day at home with nothing to do – dirty dishes by the sink, dirty laundry flung around the place; the usual – but an odd sense of calm washed over me instead. There was a strong smell of something floating around; someone nice – played with your taste buds a little. Edward walked through from the living room with a large smile on his face. We had a quick conversation discussing how our days had been and just about pushed me towards the bathroom. "Where's Draco?" I asked, finally noticing he hadn't come running up to me; it was too early for him to be in bed already.

"You just enjoy your bath, Bella."

Hmm… I smell something fishy…

_**xxx**_

Edward knocked on the door before I finished my bath; I pulled myself reluctantly from the comforting water, wrapped a fluffy towel around my body and opened the door. He didn't say anything, just passed me a tall champagne glass with something pink and fizzy inside. Looking at it closely, I saw a strawberry bobbing on the surface. "What's this?"

"Pink champagne..." _Duhh Bella…_

"How did you get this?" Does he have a fake ID I didn't know about?

"That doesn't matter. Just enjoy it."

_Yes, Sir!_

He's up to something… and right now, I'm not sure whether to like it or not.

_**xxx**_

A pile of my clothes had been left outside the bathroom when I exited; a note that said '_put me on' _had been put on top. I followed Edward's instructions, still confused over the whole scenario and noticing that same smell that I smelt on entering the house, this time it was stronger and made me very hungry indeed. I wasn't sure how Edward picked out these clothes, but however he did it, he did it well. A sleek black, strapless dress with a white ribbon under the bust and stops just above my knees (very casual, nothing too formal) this was matched with plain black leggings and a white cardigan.

Sweet music floated from downstairs in the living room – I couldn't tell you the title or composer, but it was classical either way. Edward must have heard me coming down the stairs, so ran to meet me at the bottom. He had changed into a crisp black suit I never knew he had and even ran a comb through his hair – I know! I couldn't believe it either!

"Draco is spending the night with my parents."

Oh, my goodness. I knew he wasn't in the house, but away for the whole evening? Is that even necessary?

"Wow... what-why… huh?"

Edward just smirked and asked me to follow him into the dining room, opened the door and revealed a real heart-warming sight. All the lights had been turned off, and the only light came from tea lights and other candles which burnt away sweetly in different parts of the room. The table had been set for two. The whole thing was beautiful.

"I thought I would treat you after everything you've been doing and had to go through recently. So I hope you'll take me up on my offer for dinner…?"

How could I turn him down?

"I'd love to."

_**xxx**_

_**A/N – Shit ending, but trust me, you'll want to read the next few chapters… ;) **_

_**So, how did you pronounce your name when you were little? I called myself Doddie Yoghurt, 'cause I'm cool…**_

_**RosieRathbone**_

_**xx**_


	20. Change Is Gonna Come

_**A/N - I'm really sorry for how long it took to get this uploaded, I've had a lot in the way which stopped me from getting anything written and had to sort that out before I could. But I hope it is worth the wait. **_

_**This HAS NOT been re-read, because it's already 00:12 and I need my sleep…so I apologise for any mistakes you may come across.**_

_Something's come, feel it down in my bones,  
>Yeah it's been a long time gone, but ya here tonight,<br>Now let's not look back, ya keeping me right on track,  
>Feel the karma coming back, we're gonna be alright. <em>

_**Change is Gonna Come – Olly Murs. **_

_**Edward.**_

"Hey, what the hell is… core-risso?"

"What?"

I sighed in frustration, looking back at the recipe Esme had written down for me. "One of the main ingredients - Core-risso."

"It's pronounced 'chorizo', Edward."

"Yeah whatever. What is it?"

"It's a spicy sausage; goes very well with chicken which is why I picked out this menu for you." I hope Esme realises I can't cook for shit, because if she doesn't then we'll be in a bit of trouble. "It's a fairly simple dish to make, you won't have a problem. So, tell me, what was the last thing you made?" Esme asked me this whilst we were walking down one of the many aisles at the food store. If there wasn't a sign, I couldn't tell you what at least half of these things were or how you used them. That is how shit I am when it comes to kitchen work.

"Er… oh, cereal for Draco this morning." But in saying that, Draco could probably make his own cereal _and _do a better job than I did.

"Right, what about the last thing you had to cook."

"I attempted a batch of cookies once, but I burnt them and I've seen dog turds that looked prettier. Please, remind me again why I've decided to do this?"

My dear mother stopped looking at the various types of rice before her and turns slightly to offer me a sympathetic look. "Because you are a loving young man who is trying to make someone feel special and appreciated. Don't worry, Edward, I know what I'm doing, I won't let you burn any of this."

You say that now…

"So! What's the next thing on the list?"

_**xxx**_

"Hey, mum?"

"Yes, Edward?"

"Can prawns have sex?"

"Um, yes."

"Really? Hmm…strange."

_**xxx**_

"Okay, these are one of the easiest dessert snacks you could make. So, we start off with the butter, is it soft?"

With one finger, I felt over the chunk of butter that sat all alone in a plastic bowl. "Er… it's quite greasy, but yeah, it's soft."

Esme groaned into her hands. "Oh, my goodness. No, I mean is it easy to beat or is it solid?"

"Oooh…" _that makes so much more sense. _I smacked the back of a wooden spoon against the butter, but it didn't leave a dent or any mark whatsoever. "Nope, it's solid." After being advised to microwave it for fifteen to twenty seconds, it was a lot easier to mix. I added the few ingredients that Esme pointed to and 'mixed well until smooth'.

"Spoon the mixture into the cases and shove the tray in the oven."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

Fuck me. "Wow, that's like, really easily. I thought baking was all technical crap that only skilful people could manage." I'm not skilful, only in the bedroom do I know what I'm doing. Bam! You know what I mean.

My mother, being the voice of fucking wisdom, helped explain to me the technicalities of baking. "It can be very tricky and challenging – like making a soufflé for example needs expert time and patience. But something like cupcakes or chocolate cookies don't need a lot of skill at all. Children as young as three can make them by themselves, just as long as an adult handles the oven."

Yeah, that makes me feel a _whole _lot better - sarcasm. I _so _don't see myself as a complete fucking idiot now – sarcasm. I'm totally _not _rolling my eyes as I think this – sar… yeah, you get the drift.

"And Edward, I don't have to warn you about alcohol consumption, do I?"

"No mother, you don't."

"Good. And so just because I bought two bottles of pink champagne, doesn't mean you have to have all of it – you don't even have to have any of it! But once you have had a glass or two, you refuse any friend that asks for a lift somewhere…"

"…Woah, okay mum, I get the picture! I have had alcohol before, you know. And I know not to drive 'whilst under the influence'."

"Just… just look after Bella, okay?"

_You think I'd be doing this if that wasn't my intention?_

_**xxx**_

The whole playground was in an uproar when I went to collect Draco shortly before three that afternoon. The other classes wouldn't be let out until three-fifteen, so I knew that all the brats running their teachers wild right now were all from the nursery class. You could hear crying coming from one side after one kid pushed another one over; laughter from another side, and you'd look over to see a group of toddlers running in circles and playing some sort of imaginary game they had made up. I went to the first teacher I saw on duty. I don't often get the chance to collect Draco, it's normally Bella that does this, and so I had to remind them who I was and which one was mine.

"Erm… oh, there he is." She pointed over to the far corner where Draco was spotted grabbing handfuls of soil from a flower pot, throwing it to the ground and then jumping on it. Of course, it would be my kid that ruins all the displays. At least he wasn't pissing in it, but then again, I wouldn't be too surprised to see that. We walk over together, not making much of a conversation. "Draco, daddy is here." His head perks up, the soil is forgotten about and soon he's charging his little legs down the tarmac and into my arms. His arms hug my neck tight, it's like he hadn't seen me in days, when in fact it had only been a handful of hours.

"Heya, buddy!" I chuckle happily, returning the tight embrace and kissing his chubby cheeks. "Did you have a good day?"

"Yea."

"Were you a good boy?"

"Yea." I look at the teacher with an expression that silently asked her the same question.

"He had a little crying fight before morning break, but other than that, he was as good as gold. We learnt a new song, didn't we, Draco?" I brought him round to my side so he was facing us.

"Did you, buddy? What song was that?"

He didn't answer, so the teacher put her hands up and startled wiggling her fingers, which Draco copied with a large smile. "Twinkle, Twinkle, little…"

"Tar!"

He gets his musical talent from me, I just know it.

Sadly I had to end their sing-a-long pretty sharpish, I still had so much to do before this evening. Draco took me to his peg inside their classroom, I grabbed his jacket and the 'Cars' lunchbox Bella had packed this morning. His peg was marked with a sticker that said his name and then had a picture of a cow representing his name. I'm not sure how a cow represents it, but the peg next to it had a sticker with a chicken on it, so I'm starting to think they are all farm animals.

"Can you take your jacket for daddy?" I smile politely, holding it out for Draco to take.

"Noooo…" His brows knot together in a small frown.

"And why not?" We're not allowing him to get away with being so defiant for long. It took me some time, but I soon got him to take the jacket as asked and we strolled hand in hand to my car, reminding him to look both ways when crossing a road; doing my fatherly duties and what not.

"Daddy?" He said whilst I strapped him into his car seat.

"Yeah?"

"Sat?" He pointed a finger behind me; I had to turn around before noting that he was pointing to a street lamp.

"That is a street lamp, buddy."

"Oh. Sat?" This time pointing to the house behind it.

"That's a house."

"Ow-se."

"Well done, you're really good at pronouncing words, buddy." My praise didn't go unnoticed, he smiled brightly and squirmed in glee, bringing his fists up to his mouth and lowered his head as if he was shy.

Apart from gibberish, Draco didn't say anything that I could understand until we had arrived home. "Bud… bud-bud… dyyyy." I parked the car, grasped his lunch box and jacket from the passenger seat in my right hand and opened his door with my left. "Bud… bud-bud… dyyyy." He continued to sound out the separate parts to the word. I couldn't find it in myself to interrupt, by the time we were in the house his pronunciation had developed, "Bud-d-d-yyy."

This time, I did jump in. "You are daddy's buddy."

"Daddy buddy!"

"Daddy's buddy, go and play with your toys for a minute, grandma will be coming over soon." Draco ran off without muttering a word. I was going to wait until Esme took Draco home with her before finalising my plans, so for now, I stuck with cleaning the kitchen and dining room, seeking out some candles and setting the table. A painful sounding cry caught my attention, making me drop everything and run from the room. A number of disastrous scenarios crossed my mind – _did I close the stair gate? Has he toddled up and fallen down? Did I put the safety lock on the drawer? Maybe I haven't and he's slammed it on his fingers? – _Oh, God, so many things could have happened. Why didn't I keep him in my sight? Fucking hell, what was I playing at?

Draco was found sitting on the bottom step with his back up against the stair gate – _locked and in place, I was glad to see. _He had his head tilted back and large tears were rolling down his puffy, red cheeks. I kneeled by his feet and pulled him into my chest, trying my best to soothe whatever it was that had bothered him.

"Daddy's buddy, what's the matter?" He only sniffed and rubbed his snotty nose on the sleeve of my shirt. "Hey, hey, don't cry. Come on, why are you crying? Let daddy make it better."

"Mmmm-ummy gone. Mum-mummy not where."

I'm such a fucking idiot, why did I not think of this? Bella is always here when Draco gets home – she's normally the one to collect him. Of course he'd be upset and worried that he can't find her. Maybe he shouldn't stay away tonight, maybe it would be best if we get him down to sleep first, and then have our meal… No – even though it sounds harsh, we need to do this. We haven't had a night off to be ourselves since he was born. I just have to reassure him that Bella isn't far away, and that he'll see her soon, then bribe him with the exciting idea of spending the night with Grandma and Grandpa – that's got to work, surely.

_**xxx**_

"_Little brother, this better be about something important."_

Nice to speak to you too, Alice. I would really like to know why my siblings start our conversations with something negative. I'm not that bad, am I?

"It's about clothes, Mary Alice."

"_Clothes?" _She squawked like some fucking parrot. _"Edward Anthony, do you actually want to talk about clothes, or are you taking the piss?"_ I could practically hear her heart beating rapidly. It scared me how excited someone could get over something as simple as this.

"No, Mary Alice, I am not taking the piss. I wish to have a tête-à-tête about Bella's clothes to be perfectly honest."

"_Um, Edward Anthony…I know you're young and confused, and sometimes people like to experiment wearing clothes meant for the opposite sex, but I really don't think Bella's would fit you…"_

Oh Christ. I should have known she would jump to the most random conclusion; always has, always will. "Jesus. Mary Alice, no! I've planned a surprise meal/evening for us tonight, and I would like your help in choosing out an outfit for her."

"_Well why didn't you tell me? Don't answer that – I don't have the time. Are you in her room now? Do you have access to her clothes?" _I tell her that I'm standing in front of her open closet. _"Excellent. Well, a nice dress or perhaps a tight skirt with a floaty top? Edward Anthony, you do realise I can't actually see the contents of said closet, yes?" _

"Really, Mary Alice? Fucking hell, I never knew that – yes; that was sarcasm. Er, there's a black dress here, it has, um, no straps and a white belt-ribbon-under-the-tits thing."

_Do not imagine her tits in that. Do not imagine her tits in that. Do not imagine her tits in that…_

… _I imagined her tits in that._

_Fuck me, what a sight._

"_What sort of material is it?"_

"Uh, you know those cushions Esme has… they're like, red and…a bit of purple… well it's that material."

Alice sighed. _"Do you mean satin? Is it smooth and kind of shiny?"_

"Yeah, that's it!"

"_Right, well that sounds lovely. Edward Anthony I need to go, so I would advise you match the dress with black shoes, tights and maybe a cardigan – ladies can feel a little self-conscious with so much flesh showing especially the arms."_

Flesh showing is a plus in my eyes…

"Thank you, Mary Alice. Have a good evening."

"_You too, baby brother. Oh, and give Bella and Draco a hug and kiss from me!"_

"Will do."

_**xxx**_

To my astonishment, I had the place ready for when Bella walked through the door a bit later that evening. It surprised me how… delectable someone could look with crusted paint in their hair, brushed over their clothes, and the paint all over her ass didn't go unnoticed as she walked up the stairs to have a bath. _I'd be happy to help if you need assistance reaching … _No, no, come on, Cullen, stay focused and maybe her ass will be your reward later on…

The pipes moaned and the boiler bubbled away in a sign that the bath water was running. I waited until the moaning had stopped before preparing a glass of pink champagne – dearest mother of mine advised to drop a strawberry into the alcohol to make it all aesthetically pleasing. She did, however, remind me to break the green leafy bit off the top – '_it ruins the atmosphere' _– her words, not mine.

Once passing Bella her glass, I hastily dressed into my suit – last time I wore this I was sixteen and attending my aunt's second wedding; surprised I could still wear it. I ran a comb (that I seldom use – I had to de-dust it) through my mess of hair, collected Bella's outfit and sat them outside the bathroom door. The timer told me I still had seventeen minutes before the dinner would be ready, the mashed potato had already been made, so that just needed to be re-heated in the microwave for four minutes, the table had been set and things were slowly falling into place.

Setting up my speakers in the front hallway, I plugged up my iPod, picked First Arabesque by Debussy and would wait until I heard Bella coming down the stairs before pressing play. It wasn't long before the sound of her bedroom door closing and soft footfalls were overheard. I switched on the music - relaxing and, dare I say it, beautiful. But nothing was as beautiful as the sight of Bella, dressed in the outfit Alice helped me chose, with her hair flowing neatly down her back and over her shoulders, smiling timidly at me. A hint of confusion also present on her face; part of the confusion lifted away once I told her where Draco was for the evening. I led us into the dining room.

"I thought I would treat you after everything you've been doing and had to go through recently. So I hope you'll take me up on my offer for dinner…?"

"I'd love to."

_**xxx**_

"Edward, did you plan all of this?" We were seated at opposite sides of the table, sipping on our champagne and taking in the mouth-watering scent of the dinner I proudly made. I relayed how I had Charlie distract her with the painting of a shed, what I spent the day doing and even Draco's new love of 'Daddy Buddy'. "I… I don't know what to say. Thank you – no-one has ever done this for me before."

_Point for me…_

"It's the least I could do." I shrugged nonchalantly.

Sentimental Edward rose to the situation, along with his good friend Cheesy Edward. Together, they said the followings words. "Seriously Bella, I don't make it known enough how much I appreciate everything you have done. It's because of you that I changed my mind in helping to raise Draco; I would have missed all of these moments; at first I didn't even want to be known as his father and the idea of that makes me feel physically sick. But you changed me from being the selfish asshole into a doting father. So I'll be forever grateful and this dinner is nothing like what you've done for me."

I stopped talking when I clocked on to her eyes brimming with tears. I smiled at the clear sign of how much my words affected her. "I'm sorry - I didn't mean to make you cry."

She waved me away. "No, no, it's fine. I always knew you could do it; you just had to have a little faith in yourself. And just to warn you, I will be keeping your butt in line; I won't be stopping any time soon…"

"Ooh, game on, Swan." We sniggered at one another foolishly.

_**xxx**_

Okay, so I was given the instructions for how to make cupcake icing – _add this, that and the next thing. Mix and make it into a spreadable consistency. _I doubt wallpaper paste is the right consistency, so I used some common fucking knowledge and added more water, then it became too fucking watery, sprinkled in more icing sugar, and it went back to wallpaper paste! Fuck that shit, it could add a bit of fun, doing our best to spread this crap onto the cupcakes I put my all into making.

I balance the bowl of icing, tray of cakes and tubs of little jellied sweets to decorate over to the table. "You'll be astonished to know I made these cupcakes all by myself as well." I sound like such a child…

Bella gasped sarcastically. "Oh, my goodness, Edward, you deserve a gold star for this."

I hesitated in my step. "You know, I could have just given you a banana…"

_You could give her your banana…_

I'm not going to get very far with these thoughts.

_The bedroom is far enough._

SHUT UP!

"Oh, Edward – I was joking; these cupcakes look amazing." We each took two cakes and a knife, debating the best way to ice these fuckers.

I shrugged with an obvious grin, "Yeah… I was going to make some outstanding, five star dessert, but, y'know, this is more fun and creative." The icing was so thick, it tore away at the top of the cakes, but once we had covered it all in various brightly coloured toppings you couldn't tell the difference. I was impressed by how amazing they tasted – the sponge was light and soft, but, yes, the icing was a challenge to bite through.

"This whole evening has been amazing – since the second I walked into the house. I never knew you could cook this well. Thank you, it makes me feel very special."

Seriously? How many times do I have to repeat myself? "That's because you are special, Bella."

She shoved off my comment with a bashful smile, heat coloured her cheeks. "You're just saying that."

Fine, she wants to play it that way? I'm game. Scooting back my chair, I rose steadily, not breaking eye contact. She looked at me in confusion as she watched me stalk around the table, bringing her up to stand - never letting go of her hands. "I'm not just saying that. You are beautiful, warm-hearted, funny, clever, inspiring and you put your goddamn all into every little thing. Believe me, you're very special. And even if you weren't all of these things, you are still special because you're Draco's mother; and nothing in the world can ever change that." I couldn't hold back, the tiny part of me screaming _'no - don't do this'_ became lost in the echo of '_yes; take the bull by the horns'_. I pressed a small, tentative kiss to the side of her lips to finalise my words.

"You do know you're pretty special too, right?"

"Meh, I had an inkling."

She swatted my arm playfully. "Edward Cullen - always full of it."

_You could be full of me, later…_

Okay, last – fucking – chance.

_**xxx**_

Bella had something on her mind – it's the way she played with her bottom lip and gazed around the room; not keeping her eyes on anything for more than a couple seconds, which said it all. The table had been cleared, and all that was left were the glasses we were still happily drinking from. What surprised me the most is how we had only gone through half a bottle of champagne since the night began. I know it's an acquired taste and something that you take your time sipping on, but I was certain we had had more than two glasses each. Oh well, Bella's constant gnawing at the lip was starting to piss me off, so that became my main priority.

"Hey, what's twiddling your tits?"

My sudden quizzing shook her from her silent thoughts. "Um, I'm sorry?"

"What's on your mind? You've been chewing the shit out of your lips for ages."

"Oh, I… I didn't even realise I was doing it." Colour tinted her cheeks; her lip was sucked back between her teeth. Christ sake, she had no idea what that does to me.

"You're doing it again…" I smirked, she giggled. "Come on then, didn't your mother ever teach you that it's rude to keep secrets?"

"Hm… yes, I do believe she did say that at one point in my life."

I tapped my hands on the table…is she going to tell me? "So… what's the secret?"

_Shit, it's worse than I originally thought. _Bella frowned, undoubtedly questioning herself, working out whether it would be best to tell me or not. She chose the former. "Um…I… _gah!" _She ran her hands through her hair, gripping tightly at the roots. '_Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay' _she chanted. "I want to talk about… that thing that you mentioned the other night… that I'm sort of, kind of, constantly debating myself over and… yeah."

_For fuck sake. _"You're going to have to give me a little bit more than that. I mention a lot of things on a daily basis, most of which don't make sense – even to me."

"Right - fine! I want to talk about another child and what that would involve, etc."

"Well, what it tends to involve is this little thing called sex, Bella. Sperm from a man's -."

She didn't seem too interested with my Biology lesson. "Oh har-har. I think we both know damn well what it involves _physically, _but I'm meaning mentally. Like, what would this mean for us? I was brought up to follow the '_get married, buy a house, get a decent job, raise a family'_ track, and even though I don't regret a single decision that we have made raising Draco, it isn't fair to have him sharing two homes, and I would want to be in a solid relationship before bringing anyone else into the equation. Do you get what I mean?" Her eyes held fear and anguish.

I understood what she meant, but fuck if it made any sense. I've told her, explained that this is what I want – to go through the sleepless nights and 'firsts' all over again; to give Draco a sibling to play with, argue over the games controller with and call each other names with. But Bella knows that I don't do relationships, that I can't see myself being a husband, and so if she wants to live the fucking American Dream; buying a house with a white picket fence, have two and half kids with a husband and a fucking dog, I won't be involved with that, because I don't do that. It made me fucking see red to think about Draco having a step-father, half-siblings even a fucking step-dog. Why is she doing this? Why is she putting me through this bullshit?

I thought carefully over the words I spoke – knowing my luck, I'd make the situation even worse by one single choice word. "I understand what you mean, but I don't understand what that means for me."

"It means we need to discuss where we lie. Because I know your views and how you 'don't do relationships', but from the second you took my virginity on your bed, we've been in one whether you call it that or not." _Jesus, don't try and be graphic or anything… _"And Edward, have you ever been _in _a relationship?"

"'Course I have," _I've fucked plenty of chicks. _"But I find a way to kill them somehow." No-one has ever used the line '_it's not you, it's me' _when breaking up with me, it's always been '_It's not me, it's you.' _Well, at least they're being honest.

"Oh come on, you can't be that bad."

Ha! "Bella, you know too well what I'm like – yeah, I am that bad. But it is fine, I don't mind; girlfriends just cause trouble." Then everything fell into place – her words started to make sense with me. "Wait, so you mean to say that Draco is going to have half-siblings and we'll need to share him with someone else if you want another child? I don't think I like that idea."

"No, that's not what I mean, I mean -."

"It fucking well is." I didn't care about interrupting; I was getting pissed off here. "You want to be in a solid relationship and married to someone before popping another one out, and that won't be me, so that child won't be mine and you'd be living this happy-go-lucky, fucking, world of wonder with some guy, your spawn and Draco, and he'll only be seeing me on the weekends and the only relationship I'll be having is with a bottle of Jack Daniels."

That stung more than I cared to admit.

"Edward, for the love of God, that isn't what I'm saying!"

"Then what are you saying? Do enlighten me."

Just like before, Bella grabbed her hair at the root, this time groaning silently; finding the courage to say what she wanted to say. "I mean… you could try… you're-you're older and more responsible now… you can make something work if you want it to…" I had the urge to ask for an explanation, but I kept quiet. "W-we could… y'know… try…"

"We could try?"

"Yeah… we could…_gah! Come on, Bella, just say it… _We could try and… be a couple… I haven't been in a relationship before, you don't 'do' them – we'll learn off each other and both get what we want…"

_Holy shit, she just said that, didn't she?_

"You want _that _with _me?" _I think I've had more champagne that originally thought. "You want to look at me and think '_that's my boyfriend'?"_

_Actually, when you put it that way… the offer doesn't sound too bad._

She counted on her fingers, "we've already had a child, we live together, we've kissed on more than one occasion; it seems like the next step… And don't think your jealousy towards Jacob has gone unnoticed…"

_That dick head…_

"Right. Fine."

"Fine? You… you want to give it a go?"

I shrugged. "Why not? But, we have rules to stick by."

Bella looked hesitant. Oh, she should be. "Okay…"

"Rule number one: I get to kiss you whenever I goddamn want. Number two… well, that's actually the only one – I never had time to think of others, but they will come, so, be warned."

"Ooft, they're some tough rules to stick by…" Bella grinned, winked, and leant across the table, resting her torso on her arms.

I'd be a fool to give up this opportunity. "I think we should start the rules now."

She didn't object. Our mouths collided in a kiss far more meaningful than before, ebbing and flowing, getting lost in the moment. She didn't even stop me when my hands snaked their way through her hair, holding her head closer to mine as the kiss increased. My subconscious began performing some crap rendition of the Carlton dance.

_**xxx**_

That passionate kiss was as far as we went last night, but I'm planning on getting us a little bit further. What? I'm a guy. We finished off that one bottle of champagne, hardly felt any side effects, and went off to _separate _beds shortly after one in the morning. It's now nine-thirty, Bella is in the shower and we'll be heading off to collect Draco when she's ready. I couldn't wait to bring him into my arms and enjoy his company; I just hope he's been well behaved for my parents.

The shrill ring of a telephone interrupted my thoughts. I swallowed down the last gulp of black coffee, picked the phone up off its cradle and noticed the words 'Charlie Home' before pressing the green button. "Morning, Charlie." I tried to sound as eager as possible, when, honestly, I think I peed a little. I bet you it is concerning last night and whether I touched his daughter inappropriately.

"_Good morning Edward, how was the evening?" _

_Shit, shit, I knew it!_

"It was very good; thank you again for the distraction."

"_Good, I'm glad. Is Bella about?"_

"She's just in the shower at the moment, but I could pass on a message?"

"_That would be great. Tell her that someone is her to see her."_

"Okay, um, do you mind me asking who it is? Just so I can say it in the message."

"_Her mother."_

_**xxx**_

_**Ooh, shiiit. What does Renee want? You'll just have to wait and see ;) btw, if you don't know what The Carlton Dance is, YouTube it – now. Seriously, best thing in existence.**_

_**Next update will be in the next couple weeks. **_

_**Thoughts? Leave me your views.**_

_**RosieRathbone xx**_


	21. URGENT NOTICE

**URGENT MESSAGE. PLEASE READ.**

****I don't think it has gone unnoticed that I haven't updated in what seems like years, and so this is a message explaining my absence and how long I will be away for. Basically, my laptop cable has broken, so I can't charge the battery or turn the laptop on. It's all a pair of smelly tits to be honest with you.

I went to a shop and they said to go online and order a new one. Er, question, how am I meant to go online when I don't have a working computer? So until I can order one and get it delivered, I don't have any way of updating :(

The only way I managed to add this notice was by stealing my mum's iPad for a few minutes; it's hard enough writing this message, let alone a whole chapter! I promise you guys that I WILL be returning as soon as at all possible, but for now we'll all have to be patient I guess...

Thank you for your time and I hope to see you all when I return!

RosieRathbone X


	22. I Told You So

**I'm really sorry for how long this took to finally get published, but I'm back! To remind you all, the last chapter was E/B's cosy night in, deciding to become a couple and we found out that Renee had turned up suddenly. Let's see what she wants, shall we?**

**You said you needed your space,  
>I wasn't where you wanted to be,<br>I didn't stand in your way,  
>I only want you to be happy,<br>And so how surprised am I to see you here tonight.**

I Told You So – Keith Urban.

_**Bella**_

"What the hell is she doing here?"

Edward put his hands on my shoulders in attempt to calm me down. I was furious. Renee has made no attempt to get in contact with me ever since she found out I was pregnant. I haven't had birthday cards, Christmas cards, or even the occasional phone call to ask how I am. Who does that? I understand that she was angry and didn't want me to become a parent so young, but, I mean, what mother just abandons their daughter when they are in the need of some motherly comfort? Now she has the cheek to turn up, uninvited and asks to see me? It doesn't make any sense.

"I don't know. But Bella, you don't have to see her. You can ring Charlie and tell him that you don't want to. Or I could, if that would make you feel any better?"

I couldn't figure out what to do. Sixty per-cent of me feels like walking away; she's had more than enough time to sort things out, and hasn't bothered. But the remaining forty is telling me to be the better person, that I would regret it later on, and that I shouldn't over-think anything until I've allowed Renee to talk her peace. Because I don't know why she's here, and it could be something important, or maybe she or someone else has a life-threatening disease that I don't know about.

I sighed loudly, rubbing my hands down my face, trying my best to wrap my head around this mess. "I think I should see what she wants and take it from there… I don't want to jump into conclusions too quickly." Yeah, not like I've been doing that all morning…

"Sounds like the best idea. Do you want me to entertain Draco here and –"

"No! No, Edward, please accompany me. I can't do this by myself. And having Draco with me should reduce some of my anger and help me concentrate."

He put both hands on each side of my head and placed a gentle kiss on my forehead, his hands then moved to sit upon my shoulders. "Of course I'll be there, if that would make you feel more comfortable. Are you ready? We could go get Draco now?"

"Yes please; I've missed him."

"Me too."

I shoved some of Draco's clothes into a plastic bag whilst Edward rang his parents to tell them we were heading over shortly. I can't remember the last time I had been without him for so long, that feeling is far from pleasant. I didn't like it. Draco's never going to college – he's not allowed to stay away for months on end. Simple.

As soon as Edward said '_should we go?' _I literally ran to the door, chanting "yes, yes, let's go!" Never let a momma bear away from her cubs.

Esme opened the front door when hearing the car drive up, she had my little man clutched to her side – said little man started to bounce and kick his feet when he saw us. Once the engine was switched off and we opened the doors, Esme let him down and he charged down the pebbled drive way, running straight into my legs.

"Hey, baby boy! Did you miss me?"

"Yea."

"Did you miss me, daddy's buddy?" Edward knelt down, becoming eye-level with Draco, who squealed and jumped into his father's arms.

"Bud-bud-d-d-d-eeeee."

Esme approached us slowly, one hand over her heart, watching her youngest son and grandson have a special moment. We asked Draco what he had done the previous evening.

"…Ampa."

"Grandpa? What did you do with Grandpa?"

"Nanny a Ampa."

"Did you have fun with Granny and Grandpa?"

"Yes."

"Good."

We used Edward's old room to change him, setting up the diaper mat and taking off his 'Cars' pyjamas. He didn't fuss with us when removing the used diaper, but when it came to putting a clean one on, he would kick his legs and moan. I cannot wait until he's potty trained and no longer needs to wear diapers. It's the same thing every day, he just hates wearing them.

"Come on, buddy. You can't walk about naked."

Draco shot his father a confused look, "yes."

Edward laughed lightly, "no."

"Daddy?"

"Yes, buddy?"

"Sat?" Draco grabbed his wiggling toes.

"Toes." Edward spoke the word slowly, so Draco could hear it better.

"Ooohs… Momma?"

"Yes, little man?"

"Sat?"

Edward snorted in his hand, smothering his laugh. Seriously? He gets toes, and I get penis. No joke, he literally grabbed onto his… little thing. Right, because of the laughing, _daddy _can explain this one too. "You tell him what it is – you have one, I don't."

That quickly stopped the laughing. Ha! Payback is a bitch. "Thanks, love you too." I didn't dig too deep with that one… "That's your, uh… that's your weiner, buddy. Weiner."

"Wee-nee…" Draco whispered, getting used to the foreign word. Oh come on, why is it my son that picks up words like 'dick', 'piss', and now 'weiner' quicker than anything else? Draco continued to grab hold of his…wee-nee and repeated the words endlessly. It's times like these, when I'm so thankful that Emmett isn't around twenty-four-seven – knowing him as well as I do, he would make some vile comment about that gesture.

"Wee-nee! Wee-nee! Wee-nee!"

Hey, meet my son; he's pretty cool, although he has an obsession with his dick.

_**xxx**_

Charlie's cruiser was the only car seen when pulling up to the house. Either Renee took a bus from Port Angeles airport, or Charlie was made to collect her. But knowing my parents as well as I do, if they were made to sit in a car together for a decent amount of time, they'd probably end up killing each other. Or, fingers crossed, she's packed up and left? Nope, she's here. How did I know that? Well, the squealing of my name coming from an over-excited Renee on Charlie's doorstep was a dead giveaway.

"You won't leave me, will you?"

Edward laughed at my deer-in-headlights look. "Your wayward mother doesn't scare me, Bell."

"Famous last words; you haven't met my mother, Ed."

He called me Bell, I call him Ed; we're square.

"Ampa Rarlie! Ampa Rarlie!" Before we could allow Draco to leave the car, we had to have a little word with him. He was thrashing about with excitement to see his Grandpa, so I took hold of his hand and made him look at me.

"Draco, when we go inside you have to be on your best behaviour. Mummy and daddy don't want to tell you off for being naughty, okay?"

"Heh, heh, nooo…"

He grabbed a lock of my hair and pulled on it a little too hard. "Ow, ow, ow…" I unclasped his hand from the death grip. "You need to do everything that we say; can you be our good little boy?"

He turned his attention to Edward beside me. "Bud-dyyy."

"Daddy's Buddies are good boys, you can only be a Daddy's Buddy if you behave, deal?" Edward held out his hand, which Draco playfully smacked unknowingly accepting our deal.

"Let's go then!"

Renee met me at the door, she had in my in a hug before I could do anything to stop it. "Oh, Bella. How are you sweetheart? You're so grown up!"

"I'm great, thanks. How are you?"

I didn't hold nearly as much passion and joy in my voice like she did in hers. Instead of answering my question, Renee looked over my shoulder and her eyes widened slightly. "Oh… I didn't think you'd bring company."

_Company? _That had my blood boiling, talking to my son and Edward like they were baggage I bring around with me, and not a family.

"Draco is my son and Edward is my boyfriend, so of course I would have brought them with me. We are a family, and families stick together." Can I leave now? She's getting on my wick already. Draco wasn't sure about the strange lady looking at him; he curled up in Edward's arms in his best attempt to hide.

Charlie turned up behind Renee – probably sensing our tense atmosphere – and Draco instantly snapped out of his hiding place. "Ampa Rarlie!"

"Hey, Soldier. Gimme a hug!" Edward happily swung Draco into his Grandpa's arms. Renee watched the whole interaction with an unreadable expression on her face. I just hoped she was feeling regretful – missing all these years and having her own grandson scared to even look in her direction.

We all followed Charlie into the living room; I snagged the couch quickly before anyone else could and dragged Edward down next to me. "She's driving me insane." I whispered harshly. Edward took my hand and rubbed my knuckles.

"Just let her speak her peace, and don't feel forced to say anything if you don't want to." Not caring who saw, he reached over and kissed my forehead quickly; that simple movement worked wonders, more than I thought possible. Renee came through with a plate of simple chocolate biscuits – I wondered if she had brought them when she came over, because I can't remember Charlie buying biscuits just for the hell of it, especially when he lives here alone and wouldn't eat them.

Draco was talking animatedly in his Grandpa Rarlie's lap, saying something about Granny and Grandpa Cullen and a sock – whatever floats your boat, I guess. Draco being Draco, he soon got bored and shuffled down to play on the floor. Renee passed around the biscuits but no-one took one.

"Bella, is the little one allowed one?"

_It won't hurt you to say his name, y'know._

"Yeah, that's fine."

She knelt down near to Draco and put out the plate. "Would you like a biscuit, dear?" Draco shied away and murmured in fear. I could tell he was about to cry.

"Mum, just leave it and he can take one if he wants one." The plate was placed on a small side table, at a reasonable height so Draco can snatch one if he wants to. Renee went back to her seat and the whole room fell into an uncomfortable silence. I didn't want to break it, and didn't have to, because Edward did the job for me, with the help of our son. Draco had made his way over to Edward's left leg and started playing with the bottom of his jeans. Every pair of eyes in this room was watching him.

"What are you doing, buddy?"

"Dad…dad…"

"Bella, honey, are you going to introduce him to me?" Will I go to Hell for saying that the sound of my mother's voice drives me crazy? She has known about a grandchild for almost three years, she has known about Draco for two, yet only now does she think it's time to meet him. I'd see myself as being a bad mother if I didn't introduce my child/children to all of their grandparents, but I'd also feel like a bad mother if I allowed them to have a bond with someone who could easily tune out and walk away from them – she did with me, so she can again.

"Why don't you tell me what you're here for, first? You have made no contact since finding out about my pregnancy, so you're not getting to hear about my son before you tell me everything." I made a fleeting glance towards Charlie, I could tell from his semi-smug look that he was happy with how I'm handling this, and is going to root towards me, and not his ex-wife.

_Get Charlie on your side and you're off to a good start. _

"Bella, baby, I missed you. Being a mother yourself, you have to realise how hard it is to be away from your child."

_Is she seriously giving me this crap? Unbelievable…_

"That's a little hypocritical of you, is it not? You find it hard to be away from me, yet that is exactly what you did? You stayed away, lost contact and hurt me. I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I got pregnant, only once have I felt that scared…" _now was not the time to tell her about Draco's traumatic birth. _"Anyway, if Draco had been a girl, or if I have a daughter in the future, there is no-way I would have walked away whilst she is in such a vulnerable state. So tell me, apart from the apparent 'missing me', what else made you travel all the way over here; it's not like you popped out to get some milk."

Draco had seemingly become fed up with his father's leg and it was almost like he could sense the tense atmosphere and did his best to climb onto my lap for comfort. "Mumma…mumma baby," he mumbled, patting my flat stomach with both hands. Thankfully for me, no-one really took in what he was suggesting. Only Edward did and he already knew not to read into it further.

Renee rubbed her forehead, hunched her shoulders and squeezed her eyes shut. "I have been a terrible mother and I'll never get over how much damage I have done to our relationship. All I can say, I guess, is that I was angry that you followed in my footsteps and had a child so young – I wanted you to go to college, meet someone, bag a decent career and then have a child. I wasn't ready to become a grandmother, Bella."

"And you think Edward and I were ready to become parents? And for the records, we are doing just fine. Edward has a full-time job, I am studying English Literature," I counted all of these out on my fingers, "we live together and have learnt to put our differences aside and work as a team because that is what you do for your children; you should be there for them (physically and/or mentally) whenever they need you and love them unconditionally no-matter what crap they get themselves into." I felt the tell-tale sign of tears start to form under my eyelids, but I did what I could to bat them away.

Edward clasped my hand with his own and squeezed it lightly to remind me that he was there for me.

"Oh, Bella, I do love you and always will – no matter what silly things you have done or will do – I know I have messed up and that is why I am here now. I wanted to salvage whatever we had left, if anything. The damage I caused was far too great and it wasn't a case of phoning up and saying I was sorry, plus I thought you would make up some excuse if you knew I was heading over, so I went with the surprise tactic; if it turned out that you had left Forks and lived somewhere totally different I would have bullied the address out of Charlie and gone there as well." There was a small hint of humour lacing those final words, but we all knew fine well she indeed would '_bully the address out of Charlie'. _"And I think about Draco a lot – what he may look like, which traits of yours have been inherited, he's general likes and dislikes. He is a gorgeous little boy, Bella, and he looks so much like you! The hair, the eyes, the button nose and even his face shape is slowly forming to look like you."

I wasn't happy that Renee completely left Edward out in that, I mean, what was left for him to claim? The ears and lips? "He is the spitting image of Edward actually – put a picture of him at that age next to Draco and you'd have a struggle working out who's who. Draco is very smart, chatty and the one thing he loves more than us two are his grandparents – he shouldn't grow up without knowing who you are or what role you play in his life, which is why I am willing for you to get to know him, but the ball is in your court; you have to make the first steps, mum, and only then can we move forward."

Her face lifted and eyes shone, a relieved smile broke out across her features. "That is all I am asking for – the chance to show you and have you realise how much this means to me. I know I live far away, but that doesn't mean I can't phone him."

Funny, you struggled to phone me…no, no I can't think negatively, especially not when we are trying to make amends.

I discussed briefly in my head, the best way to tell Draco who Renee was etc. and when I gathered his attention, he looked up at me with those heart breaking wide eyes. I put one hand over my heart and the other pointing out to my mother.

"Draco, this is my mummy. This is mummy's mummy."

"Mummma mummmma." He stared at Renee, still unsure of her presence.

"Yes, well done. This is your Grandma Renee."

"WEE-NEE!"

I bit down on my lips to stop myself from laughing. Yeah, he just implied that she's a dick.

If this was some Facebook status, I would end it with 'Laughing Out Loud', although, I wasn't actually laughing out loud…it's all very confusing.

"Grand-ma Ren-ay." I sounded each word out like I did when teaching him his name.

"N'ma Wee-nee."

"Clever boy. Who is that?" I pointed to Charlie.

"Ampa Rarlie!"

"And…who is that?"

"…Daaaddyyyy."

"Who am I?"

"Mummmma."

"And…who is this?" Nothing. He went completely blank. "Grand-ma Ren-ay."

"Mmmm'aeenee."

"You're getting there, buddy. Can you say Draco Cullen?"

"Dra-dra-dra-drahcolullen."

"Can I hold him?" Asked Renee.

I didn't have a problem with that, but if Draco didn't want to I wasn't going to make him. He isn't some baby that you can pass around like a joint at a party.

"Do you want to sit with Grandma Renee?"

Like always, Draco stared at Renee and edged closer to me for comfort. I expected that, he wasn't going to be all hugs and kisses five minutes after finding out she is his grandma.

"I think we should give him a bit of time to get used to you first, mum."

_**xxx**_

Surprisingly we stayed for a good few hours. Once the awkwardness wore off, the four of us started a decent conversation, even including Draco at some points, which made us either smile or laugh. Shortly after twelve, he dozed off in Edward's lap; I took that as our chance to leave. Edward took Draco to the car to give my mother and I some space to say goodbye.

"I was thinking Bella, maybe you should come to Florida this summer. I'm sure Draco would love to go to Disneyworld, see all his favourite characters, take him to the beach, and the chance to meet Phil, of course."

Of course he would love to go to Disneyworld; which child doesn't? "It sounds like a good idea, mum, but it'll be so expensive, flights there and back, tickets for all the attractions, as well as accommodation, I just think we should hold off for now and -."

"Oh don't worry about accommodation, you can stay with us! We still have your old bed set up in a guest bedroom, and, because it's a single and not a lot of room for the two of you, I'm sure we'll find a place for Draco to sleep."

_Okay, now hold up a minute. I think you're forgetting something here_. "And where would Edward stay? Squashed together in the bed with me?"

"Oh…I, er, didn't think he'd come along as well, dear."

_Ha! Is she serious?_

"And why not? I've told you this before, mum. The three of us are a family, and there is no way we're going on a family holiday if he isn't included. When are you flying back?"

"Tomorrow afternoon."

"Right, okay, erm, I'll talk this over with Edward and will give you an answer before then, is that okay?"

"Absolutely. Thank you for giving me this chance, Bella, I really hope we can work things out."

We hugged each other briefly, I could no longer feel that buzz I used to feel when hugging my mum and that saddened me. I wanted to get that back, because no matter what, she is still my mother and that bond will never completely break.

"Me too."

_**xxx**_

Edward and I talked that evening, once Draco had been put to bed. We discussed money issues, how much everything would cost and whether it would be worth paying to stay in a hotel or camp out with Renee and Phil. We both agreed that a holiday is probably what we both needed and after searching online and getting the average costs for everything, the total seemed daunting, but not as terrible as I had thought.

"I'll get two weeks off work during the summer," Edward started, "we could spend the first week in Florida, sunning ourselves and chasing a loud-mouthed, hyped up Draco around an amusement park, and the second week could be spent here, trying to unwind, and perhaps the odd day trip somewhere."

I liked that idea more than I cared to admit. "That does sound rather appealing, and I guess it would be better than staying here all summer…oh, alright then!"

Edward's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yeah why not. What is that new, terrible, saying? You Only Live Once. We'll cry over our bank balance when we get back."

Taking my face in his hands, Edward kissed my lips with a loud 'mwah!'. "I knew you would succumb!"

I better look out my best dress, looks like we'll be dining with Minnie and Mickey this summer.

_**xxx**_

**Yay for Disneyworld! Which will be the next chapter and, yes, I am about to pee myself with excitement. Or maybe I just need the toilet…okay Rosie, enough.**

**What did you think about Renee and her excuse? Was she a bitch, or no bitch? **

**See you all next time, and don't forget to rape that review button! **


	23. Summer Holiday

**(IMPORTANT) Some people have been asking me why I titled this story after the song by Brad Paisley, and I know it's about a child getting a step-father and how that man is a father who 'didn't have to be' one, but if you think about Edward's situation, at first he wanted nothing to do with Draco and was fine walking away, but then he started thinking otherwise and basically, he didn't have to be a father to Draco, he could have walked away from Bella like he originally wanted to do…so it does kind of fit, you get me? Also, I just fluffing love that song.**

**Sorry for the wait, I really like this chapter, so I hope you enjoy it. **

_Everybody has a summer holiday  
>doin' things they always wanted to<br>so we're going on a summer holiday,  
>to make our dreams come true,<br>for me and you  
>for me and you.<em>

_(Summer Holiday – Cliff Richard)_

_**Bella.**_

"Oh, my goodness, what has daddy got you?"

My two-and-a-half year old son stared down at his present in shock. His eyes were wide and mouth open slack; with ruffled hair and the remains of his breakfast smeared on his face, he was an adorable sight.

Tomorrow morning – before the birds awake – the three of us are heading to the airport to fly off to Florida and spend a week with the Mother and Step Father. I can't say I'm exactly 'over excited' about spending seven whole days with her, but Edward and I will spend most of the time treating Draco and letting him experience a completely different part of America, and that's all that matters. Talking about Edward, he wanted to treat our son to one final gift – or two, if you want to be exact – for his holiday, which is what we're staring at now. Sadly, he had to be at work and so couldn't see his son open the present, and the expression he was giving him, but apparently he wasn't _too _bothered about that.

"Did daddy get you some new pyjamas?"

Draco stuttered as he spoke. "Da-daddy new-new ayamas."

"You lucky boy! Wow, look at that one!" I pointed to the top pair, and the characters embellished on the front. "Who is this?"

"'Ineas a-'Erb!"

"Well done you, it is '_Phineas and Ferb_'!" The pyjamas were dark blue sleeping pants, and a dark blue tee, with light blue sleeves and the Disney Channel characters – Phineas; with his obvious triangular shaped head and tuft of ginger hair. And Ferb; with his rectangular head and square nose and green hair that flopped over the front. They had power tools lying around them, as well as their Platypus, Perry.

Can you tell that I've been made to watch this show far too often?

"Mummy! Mummy! A d'agon!"

Draco has clearly seen the second pair. These were white and green striped – the pants were plain green – and on the front they had a green, cartoon dragon with orange spikes running down his back and fire blowing from his mouth. There is nothing he loves more at the moment than dragons. We've even nicknamed him Draco the Dragon, because, supposedly, he's going to become one one day. It all started when Edward and Draco were watching Saturday morning TV and Edward pointed out all the different occupations – _fireman, policeman, postman, doctor…- _

"Grandpa Cullen is a doctor," I overheard their conversation, "Grandpa Charlie is a policeman, and daddy works with cars."

"Da-da-daddy cars."

"Yeah, buddy. Cool, right?"

"Cool."

This went on for an additional ten minutes (give or take), until Draco soon repeated the name with the occupation. "Ampa Rarlie '-iceman."

"That's right, buddy. What are you going to be? What will Draco be?" The TV shows had been completely forgotten by this point, and they both paid as much attention to the other.

"D'agon."

Edward laughed softly. "A dragon? Draco the Dragon?"

"Drah-co Lullen d'agon."

Edward laughed again. I poked my head through and the love that emulated from father to son could have knocked you over with its force.

"Draco Cullen the Dragon?"

"Yes."

"Glad we've got that sorted then."

It was a few days later when we found out Draco is the Latin word for 'dragon'. Perfect I thought.

xxx

"No, Little Dragon, we can't take all your toys with us. You can pick three and that is all." I held up three fingers, in hope that he'll understand me and become this obedient child who does as he is told. But this is my son I'm talking about, and so of course that didn't happen.

"No! No. Mine."

Our suitcase, which was already over the weight limit, had been filled with Draco's toys – that boy is too smart sometimes, he knew that if he wanted to take something, he put it there. I took his contribution out of the suitcase and lay them on my bed. His three favourite toys were then chosen from the pile.

"We can take Mr. Rabbit, Thomas and _Lightning McQueen_, okay?"

"No!" Draco made a mad dash to the pile. Before we could get any further with this debate, we both were distracted by someone downstairs.

"_Where are my two favourite people?"_

Draco looked at me as if he needed a confirmation, just to double check that he wasn't hearing things. "Who's that?" I whispered with a smile.

Little Dragon leapt to his feet and scurried down the hall way. "_Da-aa-aa-ddyyy!" _He cried. I took his hand to help him down the stairs, and Edward met him at the bottom. "Daddy! Daddy hoooooome."

"I'mmmm hoooome." He kissed Draco loudly on the cheek, then wrapped one arm around my waist and repeated the process. "How are you?"

"Alright, thank you - just getting the last few bits and pieces together. How was work?"

He gave me that '_I'm just glad to be home' _grunt and look. "Meh. At least now I can say I'm officially on my summer holidays!"

"Daddy!" Both of us turned our attention to the little pyjama clad toddler.

"Yeah, buddy?"

"Daddy…daddy fit cars?"

"Did I fix cars? I did actually, yes I did."

"Red run?"

"A red one? No, sorry, it was a _big blue one."_

"Blue run…" Draco whispered under his breath.

"And it had a smashed window!" Edward made an over-the-top surprised face, which Draco copied, even though he doesn't know what a smashed window is or meant.

"Mum-mummy red run."

"That's right, you clever boy. Mummy does have a red car."

"Right, little one, we have to get you off to sleep because we're going to be up very early in the morning." Draco refused to leave his father's clutches so I could take him upstairs, but after a bit more persuading, he finally let go and fell into my arms. "Say 'night night, daddy'."

No matter how hard he tried, Draco couldn't keep his eyes open once his head hit the mattress.

xxx

I was forced awake by my alarm clock at one o'clock the next morning. We had to be checked in at Seattle Tacoma by six, which meant leaving here just before two at the latest. I didn't get to sleep until after eleven, so, to be honest, I didn't see any point going to bed – I just hope those additional two hours will do me some justice. Edward was asleep before nine last night. Because he'll be driving the three and a half hours to Seattle, I wanted him to have as much sleep as possible.

I double checked that he was awake – which he was – before going downstairs to put the last bits and pieces together, including slicing up the last of the watermelon and making up a bottle of juice for Draco to enjoy in the car. Our plan is to wait until the last minute to wake him up, with hope that he'll nod off again on the way there. If not, he'll be tired and grumpier than usual – which is something I wouldn't want my worst enemy to witness.

Being so in my own world, I never noticed Edward enter the kitchen and startled myself when his bulky hand luggage crashed to the counter beside me. "_Jesus Christ," _I whispered, clutching my heart with a hand.

"No, it's just me, but the similarities are so uncanny!" I faked my 'not amused' expression, but Edward saw straight through it. He cradled my back to his chest and placed soft kisses on my neck, "Aww, come on grumpy-chops. You're the one that wanted the earliest possible fucking flight."

"Watch your language. And it's going be around five-pm when we get there, so we had to get an early flight, or else it'll mess up our sleeping patterns. I do have some brains, you know."

Edward spun me around and slipped his hands around my waist. "Oh, I know that. You're my beautiful, _*kiss* _intelligent, _*kiss* _smart-assed girlfriend and…damn, what I wouldn't give to have my wicked way with you right now."

I rolled my eyes. "As lovely as that sounds, we won't be doing ourselves any favours by either getting ourselves distracted, or hot and bothered with no time for release."

He tugged gently on my earlobe with his teeth and then proceeded to pepper kisses along my jaw before popping one my lips. "I have always wondered what it would feel like to join the Mile High club…"

"Not with our son in the seat beside us." I wriggled out of his grasp and made a run for the stairs.

"_Cock block!" _

xxx

Edward carried the suitcases and I carried Draco from the parking lot and into the airport. I wouldn't say the place was _heaving _but there was enough people around to make me worried about Draco leaving my sight, and because he refused to sit in the buggy, I went for the next best thing and cradled him on my side. Edward and I had a small argument over whether to leave the buggy and fly without one or not.

"It'll just leave us with more to carry." I had said.

To which he disputed with: "You'll be surprised how often we'll need one."

"Yes, but the Disney parks provide them, we have his walking harness and he doesn't weigh a tonne; we can carry him when he gets tried."

Edward put his hands up in surrender. "Alright fine! But don't, fucking, come crying to me when you see that I was right and you were wrong."

And now we're here, waiting on our check-in counter to open, so we can get rid of these suitcases and get our asses through security. Unfortunately my plan for Draco to sleep during our journey did not go according to plan, so yes, we are now stuck with an uncooperative…well, an uncooperative little shit. He would kick, he would scream, he would smack me in the face and he would treat me with absolutely no respect whatsoever.

I put him on the ground and within ten seconds the little pest had twisted his way out of my grip and made a run for it. Edward ran after him, scooped him up and stood back next to me, paying no attention to the sobbing child in his hands. That's one thing I love about his parenting – Edward might seem like the most laid back father, but Draco needs to learn that if he misbehaves and is passed over to _Daddy _then shit is about to hit the fan.

By the time we could check in, Draco was just a mumbling mess with red, tear stained checks and looking very guilty indeed – head tucked down and lip quivering. You have to be cruel to be kind, and if ignoring our son and making him upset is the only way he'll learn, then it's what we have to do.

Standing in the line for security, we passed all the notices that told you what to remove, and what you could take through etc. I had planned ahead and dressed Draco in sweat pants and a tee, with Velcro shoes and so the alarm won't go off when he walks through the barrier. I helped him remove his shoes and put them in the tray along with my belongings. I went through first, no alarm, and together, Edward and I persuaded Draco to walk through.

"Come on, Sweetheart. It's not scary, honest." He took tiny steps, staring at all the strange people around him, and thankfully the alarm didn't go off, so he was soon in my protective arms once again.

With time to spare, we bought a few overly-priced drinks and snacks for the plane and had a stop off at the restroom.

"Hey, buddy, look at that." We were looking out a large, glass window when Edward spotted a plane coming in to land. "Can you see that in the sky?" He followed the plane with his finger, Draco followed it too. "Wow, it's so big!" Draco stared at the plane in awe, like he couldn't believe how big the plane was compared to the tiny toy figure he has at home. "We'll be on one just like that soon."

"Daddy."

"Yeah?"

Draco prodded the window. "Pane-pane!"

"An aeroplane!"

"Pane-paaaane!"

"Aeroplaaane!"

They did that right up until we were boarding the…_pane-pane. _The air hostess checked our passports and smiled sweetly at Draco once looking at his. You can't blame her, all children passports are adorable. His photo is the best one we could take at the booth. He's looking a smidgen under the camera, where I had been waving my hand, but luckily they didn't refuse it. His hair had inherited some of Edward's cowlicks and you could just make out the shoulders of his shirt. His information read:

**CULLEN**

**DRACO DALE**

**UNITED STATES OF AMERICA**

**4 MAR 2009**

xxx

"Where birdies?"

We were half way through our flight and so far, Draco had been amazing. He was cuddled up on my lap and looking out the window to our left. Edward had fallen asleep, so I made sure we stayed quiet.

"We're too high for birdies, they're flying under us."

"Sat?"

"Clouds. Fluffy clouds."

"Fuff-fuffy cows."

I laughed quietly, "not 'cows', Sweetheart, 'cl-ow-ds'."

"Cow'ds."

"Well done, you're getting the hang of things now."

"Daddy seeping."

"Daddy is very tired."

"W-why daddy vey tight?"

"Why is he very tired? Because he's been very busy and when you're busy you get tired, so you need to sleep a lot a lot."

"I-I-I-I no…seeping."

"Are you tired?"

"…Not tight."

"Then you don't need to sleep. Now, shall we find something fun for you to watch?"

The headrest in front had a small screen slotted in the back. I scrolled through the 'TV Children' section and selected an episode of _Spongebob Squarepants. _We had the headphones plugged in, which Draco held against his ears, and even though he claimed not to be tired, by the time the episode had ended, he was fast asleep.

I didn't stay conscious much longer either.

xxx

When I awoke, Edward had moved to the seat next to me – where Draco used to be – and was scrolling through his iTouch. "What you doing?" I asked, purely out of interest.

"Raping the plane of its free WiFi. Hey, Bella, what did the buffalo say to his son when he left for college?"

"Um…I don't know."

"Bison."

As stupid as that joke was, I couldn't do anything but burst out laughing. "You're so cool."

"Emmett shared the picture on his Facebook page."

I scoffed, "Emmett would. So, what else is going on in the world of Facebook?"

"Er…" Edward scrolled down the page with his thumb, "Oh! Jessica Stanley is pregnant."

That was news to me. "What? When did that happen?"

"Er, about a week ago. Look, I'll find her status…" His thumb pressed various parts of the screen quickly, "ah, here we go." I took the device from him and read Jessica's status.

_Mike & I are pleased 2 say were having a baby! Cant wait 2 see my baby boy or girl!_

Not only did I roll my eyes at every mistake she made, but I was astonished to see that she was back with Mike Newton.

"Jessica and Mike are back together?"

Edward looked at me in astonishment, "you didn't know that? They have been for months. When was the last time you signed on?"

"When do I ever have time?"

"True. I know, let's see what your last activity was." I adjusted the way Draco slept whilst Edward did his searching. "Okay, so three months ago you uploaded a picture of Draco and I having a water fight…"

I remember that day well – it was unusually warm that week, so we bought the cheapest paddling pool we could find, filled it with a safe amount of water and let Draco do whatever he wanted – within reason. The picture is Draco pouring a bottle of water over Edward's head, both are laughing and Edward is cowering away with his arms braced by his face.

"Oooh, before that you changed your relationship status. Apparently you are now in a relationship with Edward Cullen...?"

I hid back my smirk. "Yeah, but he's a bit of a dick, so I don't know how long it'll last."

"You bitch…I hate you."

"It's fine; feeling is mutual."

Edward leaned forward to put his forehead against mine. "Well," he whispered, "maybe I'll keep you for a little while longer." We both had the same idea, and acted upon them at the same time.

Our kissing became heated, but before we could go _too _far, an announcement was made to return back to our seats, put them in the up-right position and belt up, because we'd be landing shortly.

"We'll return to this later…"One final kiss and Edward went back to his original seat so Draco could sit in the middle.

"You mean…under my mother's roof? Mm, risky…I like it."

xxx

**Damn, Bella, look who's growing some balls. I'm so excited for the next chapter… but, maybe it's because I'm a nerd and love Harry Potter…(I'm watching it right now)**

**So, there are loads of Draco moments in that one…which was your favourite? Mine? Well, let's just say that Edward is 'vey tight' ;)**


	24. Just Around the Riverbend

**A/N – I have never been to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and the last time I went to Disney World Florida was in 2008, so this is all from research and my brother's Facebook album ;) However, when I went to Florida, my dad spotted something being built and some brick work being put up – aye! They were building freaking Hogwarts! I kind of died when they announced the opening of it. **

**IMPORTANT: If you don't like Harry Potter and would get bored reading their time in the park, by all means, skip that part when you get to it.**

_What I love most about rivers is:  
>You can never step in the same river twice,<br>The water is always changing, always flowing,  
>But people, I guess, can't live like that,<br>We all must pay a price.  
>To be safe, we lose our chance of ever knowing,<br>What's around the riverbend,  
>Waiting just around the riverbend. <em>

**Just Around the Riverbend – 'Pocahontas'**

_**Bella**_

"Edward, have you seen where I put the sun-," before I could finish my sentence, Edward had his finger to his lips, telling me to keep hushed and then made me follow him with the flicker of his hand. We snuck down the hallway, heading towards the kitchen and back garden but we came to a halt before entering the room. Listening carefully, I could just make out Draco talking elaborately either to himself or with someone else.

"I hash run dish…it biiiiig run an da-daddy hash run tooo…"

"Can you play songs on it?" The deep voice belongs to my step father, Phil. I can't remember ever seeing him around children as young as Draco, so I wasn't sure what his patience would be like. Seemingly, he acts well.

"Daaaaddy pays bush run nnn'it."

Edward and I both looked at each other, silently asking what he meant by that. Shrugging it off we decide to enter the room and see for ourselves. Phil is sitting on one side of the kitchen table with a portable keyboard before him; Draco is kneeling on the seat beside Phil, entertaining himself by pressing two of the ivory keys. The keyboard hadn't been switched on, so no noise came from his playing.

"Hey buddy, you okay?" Edward ruffled our son's hair, bending down to be on the same level, "what are you doing?"

"…Dad-daddyy…I hash run."

"We have a piano don't we?"

"Yeaaah…Dad-daddy pay bush run?"

"You want me to play the bus song?"

"Yeeeah."

"As long as that is okay with Grandpa Phil…?"

Phil stuck his arms out and slowly rose from the seat, "hey, yeah, be my guest. I need to start grilling the steaks anyway."

I wish I had my camera with me, to snap Draco's expression when Edward began to play the well-known tune. He literally had a sparkle in his eyes, and he shuffled his butt in excitement. We both sang the lyrics and I helped Draco with the hand movements to each verse.

"…The babies on the bus go: waah, waah, waah. Waah, waah, waah. Waah, waah, waah. The babies on the bus go: waah, waah, waah. All through the town…"

Of course, Edward being Edward, he couldn't walk away from the keyboard after only playing one song, and so gave us great renditions of other pieces, including '_House of the Rising Sun' _by The Animals,_ 'The Show Must Go On' _by Queen and some _Pirates of the Caribbean _songs, naturally; it is our favourite film after all. Out of all the Pirate songs he played, '_Up Is Down' and 'The Black Pearl' _were my favourite two.

I sat in amazement – his hands flew up and down the keys and playing so many at a time, it's surprising how he didn't mess up. His left hand controlled the chords and sometimes the keys just needed a flick of the fingers and that was all it took to produce such a beautiful melody.

"Hey Bella," He stopped playing and turned his head to look at me, "how much does a Pirate spend to get his ear's pierced?"

"Um, I have no idea."

"A Buccaneer!"

"You can't arrr-gue with that!"

"Yeah, you ruined it."

_Well…you smell! Ha, take that!_

A look of deep concentration crossed Edward's face, it then broke into an evil smile and he looked in my direction…_oh, God…_He bounced his finger rhythmically on a black key near the top end of the keyboard. I didn't know which note it was, but it was quite deep sounding. It was a very quick paced rhythm, almost like tapping. He did this for a good thirty seconds before playing another two keys, spread apart and deeper than the first, all in the same rhythm. Call me slow, but I only understood what he was playing when using his right hand to start the melody.

"You're doing that on purpose!"

"What? Moi? Bella, I have no idea what you're on about."

"Eurgh! You know how much I hate '_Chariots of Fire_'! In fact, it was you and your shitty friends who bullied me with it." Back then, during high school, being stuck in Gym class with Edward and his 'Merry Men' was Hell on earth. Whenever we ran laps or did anything faster than walking I always came last, and they would stand at the finish line, sound out the song and slow-motion run along-side me, sweating buckets and breathing like an Asthmatic.

So now I can't stand that song, simply because of the sheer humiliation it reminded me of.

Yet, old habits die hard and Edward is refusing to stop; still with the evil smile on his face.

"Edward, stop it, that's not funny."

"Oh, come on, Bell; I'm only playing with ya'."

"You bullied me with that song – I wouldn't say I was too keen to hear it."

He rubbed his hand roughly down his face. "For God's sake, I'd hardly call what we did 'bullying'. Teasing, yes, but not bullying."

"Think what you like – it always appears different to the victim."

Edward turned the keyboard off with an angry punch of a button. "For fucks sake, stop acting so fucking ridiculous."

"Hey! Watch your language. I can tell you're angry, so I'm going to take Draco out for a swim and you can join us when you can control your temper." How did our sweet moment turn into an argument? Sometimes I wonder whether there is one child in this family or two.

**xxx**

I was forced awake by a heart breaking cry shortly after four-thirty the following morning. Edward had his arm draped over my stomach and was snoring quietly into my shoulder. No matter how much we argue, we always came running back to one another, whether we're conscious or not.

Draco's cheeks were red and wet with tears, he mumbled my name through his crying, which had quietened down now that I was here. I don't know what had caused this, but I assumed it was a nightmare; you don't wake up in such a state otherwise. When I brought him into my arms, he grabbed onto my tank top straps and pulled himself close to me as well as doing best to move up my front.

So as to not wake Edward, I padded through to the kitchen and turned a couple side lights on, to make the place appear safer for Draco. I crossed my arms around his shaking body and rocked him soothingly.

"Don't cry, Poppet, it was just a dream. Mummy is here – I'll look after you." He rested his head against my chest; I stroked his hair off his forehead and then rubbed his arms. "Can you tell me what happened? Why are you crying?"

"A mooonster. Not nice."

"Was the monster scary?"

"Yeah."

"Do you want to hear a secret?"

"Ssh…"

"That's right; you can't tell anybody...but monsters are scared of mummies and daddies."

"Sc-scare…mommy."

"Yeah – mummies and daddies have a special monster spray that makes _all _the monsters disappear and the monster doesn't come back, because it knows that mummy and daddy will spray it again." A brilliant idea came into my head – it was perfect! "Shall we get the spray?" Draco only nodded. Crossing into the kitchen, I went to the fridge and slotted in the door cabinet was a little bottle of Evian mineral Facial Spray which Renee and Phil use to cool down in the Florida heat.

"I spray this around your bed and the scary monster will _vanish. _And if you ever feel scared, tell me or daddy and we'll get the spray. And you're a big boy, aren't you?"

"Daddy…daddy say I a big boy…I hash big boy bed."

"Exactly, and big boys don't need to be scared of monsters."

"Nnnnot scare."

"That's right, there's no reason to be scared."

I sprayed the area around his bed three times, telling Draco to say 'goodbye' to the monsters as we did so. I knelt by his bed, stroking his hair to soothe him back to sleep, I didn't get back to my bed until I was certain he wouldn't wake up.

"Is he okay?" Edward whispered when I was curling back under the covers.

"Yeah – he had a nightmare, but I sorted it."

I was just falling back to sleep when he spoke again. "I'm so sorry, Bella. I didn't mean to wind you up like I did earlier." He slipped his hand over my shoulder and stopped when his hand was cupping my cheek, stroking my jaw line with a thumb.

"It's okay – I was tired; I shouldn't have reacted like I did."

"Can you forgive me?"

"For what? You never did anything wrong, Ed'."

"Well, I'll probably fuck up somewhere in the near future – think of this forgiveness as a Get Out of Jail free card for later."

**xxx**

"Mummy! A rion!"

Our first day visiting the parks was spent at Disney's Animal Kingdom – allowing Draco the chance to see some of his favourite wild animals and to enjoy the jungle activities. Right now, we were on the Kilimanjaro Safaris Expedition. Having my son on a rickety, open-sided bus with only Edward's arms keeping him from falling out was not my idea of a relaxing ride, but I did my best to keep the smile on my face.

"A lion? Where?"

_Yeah – where and how far away?_

He shoved his arm out the side and pointed a stern finger into the grassy patch a safe distance away. "Dere! Dere!" Sure enough, spread out on the ground was a mighty, sand coloured lion, with his ginger mane adding to his powerful appearance, and a long tail that flicked from side to side every so often.

"Wow, Buddy, look at that." Edward had spotted another pride of lion, to the right of the one we were watching now. The biggest, strongest looking of the group yawned suddenly (that got the cameras clicking). Till then, I had underestimated just how big their mouths were and the _teeth, _my God, I would not like to get on the wrong side of that one. When the lion finished his yawn, it roared a little. Draco covered his ears and then giggled in excitement – I hadn't seen him this happy for ages; bouncing on Edward's lap, giggling and showing us everything he saw.

"What noise does a lion make, Draco?"

"_Raaarrr!""_

"Atta boy! Can you make the claws?" Edward put his hands up and bent his fingers slightly to make sharp talons. When Draco copied his father, they roared at one another and pretended to scratch the other with their claws. I slyly snapped a picture – it came out perfectly.

For the duration of the safari, we took many more pictures; some of the three of us, some just Draco and myself, and some just Edward and Draco. Our little boy smiled or looked intently at the wild animals, but Edward always made some childish face, like crossing his eyes and sticking out his tongue or flaring his nostrils, crossing his eyes and smiling like the Joker.

"You're so strange…"

"Takes one to know one…"

_I couldn't argue with that._

**xxx**

"_Aaaaaah! Aaaaaahh!"_

Every person that walked past could not hide their subtle glances they gave my screaming son. Edward and I were perched on a side wall, with Draco strapped into his rented stroller, crying his eyes out and doing whatever he could to try and get free. He had been at this for the past twenty minutes, and the infuriating thing was we have no idea what triggered it. One minute we were happily walking to a Safari Mickey meet 'n' greet, Draco asked for a drink and the second Edward passed it over, he threw it to the ground and began to scream.

I was doing my best to ignore his screams and wait patiently for him to calm down, but the embarrassment you feel from this situation slowly over-runs whatever you were taught in the parental guidebook.

"Draco," Edward said sternly, "I want you to calm down and -,"

"_Noooo! _No, no Daddy_."_

"Buddy, stop-,"

"_Noooooo!" _A look, so chilling and full of hate, was passed from son to father. "I hatchu!"

"Oh, great, now he hates us. Could this day get any better?"

Edward turned his focus on me, and, also seemingly, his anger. "It could if you gave me a _fucking _hand."

_Oooh, no he didn't. _"Excuse me?" I slapped a palm onto my hot chest, "it's not _my _fault he's having a tantrum, so don't you dare treat me like the bad guy."

Ten minutes of screaming and angry sighs later, Edward had had enough. "Fuck it, let's go." He gathered all our stuff together, threw it in the bottom of the rented stroller and started to walk off without looking back at me. I had to run to catch up.

"Hey, hey, what are you doing?"

I hadn't seen him look so fed up and irritated in a long time. "Going home."

"What? Home? We spent a lot of money to have this day out and you're giving up after one tantrum?"

Edward stopped walking abruptly. Draco fell back in his seat from the force, but he didn't seem to notice and continued to scream.

"Fuck the tickets and fuck this holiday. We need to get him the fuck out of here but if you want to piss around with Mickey and all his fucking mates be my fucking guest."

I desperately wanted to tell him about the use of his language, but I valued my life.

Staff didn't bother to say thank you for returning the stroller, especially when Edward literally parked it at the entrance, grabbed Draco (much to his refusal) and left me to deal with all the paper work. It didn't take much to tell that he wanted nothing to do with anyone.

Thankfully, I caught up with them just before boarding the shuttle bus that takes you to your parking slot. By this point, Draco had turned to being physically violent, slapping Edward's face and kicking him where ever he could reach.

Edward snapped the second we got to our car. Grabbing Draco's wrist, he looked our son firmly in the eyes, "stop it." His voice alone had Draco break out of his tantrum, widen his eyes and start to cry again, but for an entirely different reason completely.

I saw red. How dare he?

I don't care that he's 'father'. I'm 'mother', and I've grown up to realise that you fear a momma bear when someone hurts her cubs.

"Have you lost your mind? Give him here."

I assured Draco that everything was okay, that I was there to protect him and helped him calm down into a sniffling mess. I didn't speak a word to Edward during our drive home. He seemed to get the hint that I was angry; leaving Draco and I to play and relax together whilst he shut himself away in our room.

Renee joined us outside, carrying a tray of refreshments and potato chips. She mentioned the elephant in the room…or, the patio. "You need to talk to him, dear."

I studied Draco's drawing process. "I don't have anything to say to him."

"I know you're angry," she sighed, "but you have plenty to say – what caused this mess for one thing. People mess up; it's what we're best at – especially when we're not thinking straight. I can tell how much he loves Draco from his expressions alone, and I doubt he feels proud of what happened, but by shutting yourself away also is adding to his guilt, and that's not fair. "

Damn, why must she speak so much sense?

"Unless I've been mistaken, Edward's never been a father before has he, Bella? This might be the first time he's felt that way during a tantrum, and he slipped up. Go and talk to him, and I promise you both will feel a million times better."

Considering everything that was said and told, I took Renee up on her deal.

Edward was seated on the end of our bed, hunched over and picking away at a sore on his thumb. I couldn't remember seeing that before, so I wondered whether it had been made now.

"What did we do wrong, Bella? Did we skip a section in the handbook? Why is he so disobedient?"

"I don't know…but we've entered The Terrible Twos 'n' Threes; it wasn't going to be plain sailing."

"But it hasn't been plain sailing since the day he was born!"

"That's because parenting isn't easy – it's not for the faint hearted – but, Edward, you need to remember that lowering yourself to their level won't help things – leave them to settle and self-soothe."

No-one spoke a word, until Edward broke the ice. "I'm really sorry, Bella."

"I know you are, but Draco is only little – two year olds do this thing – and I wasn't comfortable seeing you so harsh with him."

"I don't know what came over me. It was like I transformed into the incredible hulk and I can't remember what or why I did anything. I feel terrible – he's going to hate me now, and he looked up to me so much."

I pulled Edward's hand away, before he could manage to scratch his whole thumb off, and kept it sandwiched between mine. "He looks up to everybody; it's the way that he learns, but he's not old enough to understand why we're protective or stop him from doing things. Draco loves you and that won't change just because you took charge and spooked him a little."

It was a wee while before anyone spoke again. "Why are you so perfect?"

I scoffed. "Oooh, I'm nowhere near perfect; you just needed a confidence boost."

"So tomorrow, we'll try this again, then?"

"Duh! Don't you remember, Eds? We're taking Draco to Harry Potter world!"

**xxx**

The entrance to Hogsmead is straight ahead… I am in walking distance of the fictional world that Rowling created and my nerd self is about to claw its way out. Every little detail was perfect, from the snow-covered rooftops to chips in the brick walls. Even the shops (some that you can't go into) looked just as I had imagined. The window display in Honeydukes had an amazing Chocolate Frog display, and on the inside it only got better. The walls were painted almost a turquoise colour, with precise detail put into every statue, ornament and general appearance.

There are stalls for Butterbeer, Pumpkin Juice, and I passed a window that held an incredible Gilderoy Lockhart display. I snapped the best quality picture that my camera allows – Lockhart was an amazing character (granted, you only saw him for one book/movie) so I had to treasure this moment.

We decided to go on some of the rides, so headed towards the Dragon Challenge ride, and on the way, passed some pennants for the champions for the Triwizard Tournament; A large red banner saying 'Harry Potter' 'True Champion'; a delicate blue banner with a red heart and a white ribbon that said 'Fleur'; an upside down triangle with 'Cedric' written down the middle and black stars surrounding the name. I never spotted the one for Victor Krum, so I must have walked straight past it – or they didn't have one.

I loved how the soundtrack played loud and proud from speakers – if the scenery didn't put you in the mood, the music certainly did. Because Draco obviously couldn't go on the ride, I let Edward run off and enjoy it - also, when getting closer and closer, it started to haunt me; the red and blue track, both running at the same time inter-locking at certain places and sometimes looking like you're going to smash into the opponent – not my cup of tea.

Edward sent me a text before taking his seat, and told me where to look when the cart came whizzing past. I think I just caught his feet, but it went by too fast for me to tell for sure. Apparently when you walk closer to the front of the ride you passed some amazing memorabilia, like the flying car and the golden eggs that the dragons guard in the Triwizard Tournament.

Looming high above the rest of the park, the main attraction itself, Hogwarts stood tall and mighty; trees surrounding the base, and it looked, dare I say it, magical.

Hogwarts is actually a ride – not just a place to walk through like the Princess Castle – unfortunately, with no-one else to look after Draco, and if going separately would have meant waiting well over an hour each, we decided not to go on the ride, but enjoy the scenery instead. I wasn't overly bothered and I get more out of the things on sale and what you can interact with than the rides which you wait for ages and it's over in minutes.

Near the Flight of the Hippogriff ride, you could watch the Frog Choir – Draco much enjoyed that. Or you can have a wand 'chose' you in Ollivanders, before buying your own either in Owl Post or in Dervish and Banges. The guy pretending to be Ollivander is very entertaining, and made you laugh at certain parts during the show.

After getting our picture taken in front of The Hogwarts Express, we went to kill our bank balances by souvenir shopping. Edward and I spotted the same thing at the exact same time, looking at each other and smiling before heading over. There were row upon row of stuffed dragon toys; we had to remind Draco what they were before he reacted.

"A d'agon! Daddy, daddy, a d'agon!"

"I see that, buddy! Do you like the red one, or the grey one?"

"Eh…the red run!" Taking a red dragon off the shelf we passed it into his eager hands. Draco hugged it tight to his chest and then proceeded to show us both his new toy.

"That's badass, dude. Has it got a name?"

"Eh…Draco D'agon."

From another shop we bought a few key chains and a Slytherin mug – Edward begged me to let us get Draco a Slytherin robe, but I wasn't confident spending practically one-hundred bucks on a piece of material that I could make for free at home.

Leaving the magical world of Harry Potter, we took a detour to Dr Seuss World were Draco could enjoy some rides that were suitable for his age and not too scary including: the Caro-Seuss-el; One Fish, Two fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish; and The Cat in the Hat – which I thoroughly enjoyed; whirling through the brilliant novel and seeing Dr Seuss characters come to life. Thing 1 and Thing 2 skip around the place, taking the hats off of little children and doing funny butt shaking before giving it back.

Overall, we had a lovely day out (a lot better than yesterdays) and left the park shortly after three o'clock. I wanted nothing more than to sit in the back garden, soak my feet in my pool and knock back a chilling glass of wine (if my mother would allow me to have some).

Later that evening, with Draco fast asleep in bed, clutching Draco Dragon, Edward and I finished having dinner with Renee and Phil before going to bed ourselves. This was only the start of our Disney Park tours and already we wanted to become lazy assholes that sleep all day. Snuggling up, with my head on Edward's chest and his arm around my shoulders, I recall back everything that we did that day. "At least he was well behaved today," I think audibly.

"That's true; it makes everything so much easier."

I could feel my eye lids shut, but that didn't stop my mouth. "Do you think we'll come back here?"

"Yeah, I don't see why not. Perhaps in a few years when Draco is old enough for most of the rides and, fingers crossed, better behaved. You never know, there might be the four of us next time…"

I wonder where he's going with this…(sarcasm). "This your subtle attempt in asking to get me pregnant?"

Edward chuckled, "maybe…is it working?"

"Not at the moment."

"Aah...that's not a definite 'no'. I don't think we have anything to worry about. I love you, and whatever happens we deal with it as a team."

That was the first time he'd said those three words to me, and I wasn't sure whether he realised he had or not. Instead of questioning him on it, I grab the neck of his wife beater and pull myself up a bit so we meet in the middle. Trying to be as quiet as possible, but things are easier said than done. Luckily we stopped before the bed frame hit off the thin walls.

"I love you, too. You're right – we have nothing to worry about."

What's that well known saying…?

Oh yeah, famous last words.

**xxx**

**A/N-IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ: The next chapter is the epilogue – yep, this is coming to an end :'( but I'm so excited to write it, so I'm literally starting right now. **

**I'll be having a Q&A at the end of the epilogue, so please ask me whatever you want to know – about this story, what my plans are, Draco…my life (within reason) and I'll answer them next time! **

**RosieRathbone.**


	25. Anything Like Me

**A/N- Here it is guys. I really hope you like it. This isn't really leading to anything, it just shows you how strong E&B are as a couple and what life now involves. **

_He's gonna get in trouble, oh, he's gonna get in fights,  
>I'm gonna lose my temper and some sleep,<br>It's safe to say that I'm gonna get my payback,  
>If he's anything like me<em>

**Anything Like Me – Brad Paisley.**

**Edward.**

"_I'M NOT A BABY!"_

_Aah, the blissful sounds of sibling quarrels to greet you after a day at work._

"You still have to wear diapers!"

"_Only for bed time!"_

"Sssst-t-t…st-st…"

"Jesus, Hartley, hurry up."

I put a stop to Draco's bullying sharpish, making them all jump when entering the dining room unannounced. "You," I pointed a stern finger in his direction, "you let your sister speak."

The eleven-year-old sighed, slapping his hands down on the wooden table. "Dad, I don't have all day!"

My seven year old daughter, Hartley Beau Cullen, ('Beau' because, like 'Bella,' it's another word for 'beautiful') first began to stutter at the age of four. What started off as repeating the first syllable a couple times soon escalated into struggling to pronounce nearly every word she says. She's very reclusive and her school teachers have told us how little she talks, even when playing with her friends. It's heart breaking for us to witness, as parents. Bella and I found Hartley the best help around, yet it hasn't seemed to help the case.

"I don't care how long you've got; you will wait patiently until Hartley has stopped speaking and then add in your two cents." One thing we were told not to do was finish her sentences for her – it's not her fault that she has trouble speaking, so why force it and make her feel worse than she already does?

"Daaaaaddy, Draco said I a baby, but I no a baby, am I?"

I pulled Austin (Austin Anthony, after his old man) into my arms for a cuddle. "What? A baby? You? Of course not, you're my big five year old." Five years old already? God, time flies. It won't be long before I'm chasing the boys away from Hartley with a stick, Draco will be off doing his own thing, and Austin won't be too far behind. When did my babies not become babies anymore? I swear they were only born, like, yesterday. Talking about births, thankfully we didn't have a repeat of the first time, and no emergency caesareans or life support machines were needed – _fuck, I still get nightmares about that…_

"Seeee. Told you I no a baby!" Austin sneered and stuck his tongue out to his older brother. Although he may appear cute and cuddly, my youngest can be far from charming. It's a rare moment to come downstairs for breakfast and not see the evidence of a cereal/milk fight between two boys. Hartley joins in too, but one harsh remark from either Draco or Austin has her running away crying.

"Hartley, where's your mother?" Normally Bella sits with the kids whilst they're having dinner and to break up any arguments, but it could be that the phone rang and she's gone to answer it.

"Mum's heh-heh-heh-heh…" An audible sigh from Draco had Hartley drop her head and suck in her bottom lip as if trying to hold back tears.

"I've already told you once, Draco – don't make me tell you again. Princess, don't worry about them. Take a big, deep breath, think about what you want to say and then try again."

Hartley ran through the exercises we've been taught before attempting round two. "Mum is…heh-heh…having a bbbbbath." By my winking and grinning slightly, she understood that I was proud of her. I loved seeing the bashful smile I got in return. My plan, in theory, if we praise her every time, is to help Hartley understand that she has nothing to be ashamed of when she talks, and her brother's tease her because that's what brothers do – they tease, but they don't mean it.

Austin hopped down from his chair and ran around to the other side of the table where I sat. I happily welcomed him onto my lap. "Daddy, can I get downed now 'cause I've finished my dinner and I don't like my veggies."

How can I say no to those large, brown eyes? And I never liked my greens either, but Bella would stew my dick for dinner if I said he didn't have to eat them. "How about you have three more bites? One for me," I counted on my fingers, "one for mummy and one for me?" He squirmed like a worm when I tickled his tummy and underarms. "Huh? Can you do that? Huh?"

His giggle broke hearts – especially mine. "Okaaay! Okaaay! Daddy, stop!"

"And remember if you don't eat your veggies you can't get dessert, and I think mummy has ice cream…" That had all six ears perked.

"Can I has chocolate sauce on mines?"

"If we've got some then yes you can."

"We do! We do! And sprinkles."

"Then it looks like we're on a role, Aussie. Now, can I trust you to sit here nicely will I go and talk to mummy?"

"Yes, daddy."

"Good. Draco's in charge, okay? And if I hear any squabbling you won't be having any ice cream."

After a confirmation from all, I left my children and went in search for my wife. Yep, wife – still sounds strange to say it because we've only been married for fourteen months. We decided it was about time to make it official, since my blunt proposal ten minutes after Hartley was born. No shit, they were doing all the medical crap and I blurted out that we should get married, y'know, just so there was no confusion with surnames. What can I say? I'm a romantic bastard.

So we had Hartley, everything was going fine, and then shortly after her first birthday Bella began to act all moody, she would throw adult tantrums and it wasn't until someone begged her to take a pregnancy test that we knew Austin was on the way. With two little'uns we had to postpone the wedding until Austin was at least a year or two, and then everything happened with Hartley and finding speech therapists that are good enough for my princess, so it really did take that long to tie the knot officially.

We honeymooned off the coast of Rio for two glorious weeks. Since the day I found out about Draco – not quite twelve years ago – Bella and I have been together (if not romantically then as a team), and in those years we've never had time alone to relax without at least one, two or three children to worry about – where are they? What are they doing? What have they stuck up their nose this time? So with Carlisle, Esme and occasionally Charlie looking after them, we quite literally spent the fifteen days seeing how many different ways we could have sex in a beach house. Yes, sand was involved, and yes, Bella refused to go anywhere near it whilst naked again. Shame really, it sure did bring out the scenery.

But I can't imagine that right now, because it seems as though she needs a husband to support her weight and not one that's horny twenty-four-seven. It didn't help the case when the first thing I saw was her ass – clad in some tight denim – and her tits, stunningly displayed underneath a tank top and blouse. Again, no, I need to divert my terrible imagination.

"Are you okay, beautiful?" Bella doesn't take a bath at dinner time unless something is seriously bothering her. I didn't get a worded response, just her falling into my arms and allowing my comfort to be passed through in a hug.

"You know what time I got them to school this morning? Quarter to eleven. By the time I had dropped them off, done some shopping, unloaded it and went to the bathroom I had to drive back to school. I haven't managed to get anything important done today, Edward, and I just feel so emotionally drained."

I continued to hold her, and plant the occasional kiss on her crown. "What happened this morning?"

"I knew that Austin and Hartley needed bath and hair washes – seeing as they refused point blank last night – so I got that out the way after you left and everything was going fine until we were about to leave and Austin decided to make some immature comment -,"

"He's five, love. Everything he says is immature."

"Yes, well, no, I mean…eurgh! You know what I mean. _Anyway, _he made a comment about Hartley, which she didn't stand for, literally tackled him to the ground, and whilst I was breaking them apart, Draco decided, '_no, I won't go to school today. Instead, I'll sit at the kitchen table and ignore anything that's said to me'. _Hartley then decided that _clearly _everybody hates her and that the best way to deal with it all is to kick off her shoes and hide in her room. I had to ring the school, on the brink of tears, to have them pass on the message to their teachers that our little shits will be coming to school today, I just wasn't sure what time."

"I'm sorry you've had such a hard day, love."

"Yeah, and it didn't stop when we got home either. Austin was demanding a snack; Hartley wanted me to put a DVD on for her and then threw a tantrum because I banned them all from watching TV after today's performance. Draco had a fight at school this afternoon, which meant he stormed up the stairs, effing and blinding and repeatedly telling me how the world is shit. I finally coaxed them downstairs to have dinner and that's when I went for my bath."

"He was fighting again?"

"Yep, and don't ask me what started it because he wouldn't tell me. Anyway, enough about our offspring, how was work?"

I'm still at the garage and repair shop, although now, um, it's mine. Yep, after Aro (the old owner)'s dad passed away, he was finding it too hard to run the company, grieve and plan a funeral in Italy all at the same time, so he did the best thing and passed it on – I was the only one there who knew every little thing about the shop so he gave it to me. Simple. I changed 'Volturi's' to 'Cullen's' and Bella and I moved the kids here to Seattle so I didn't have as far to go every morning. The only thing they miss is not being as close to their Grandparents, but we make the journey a couple times a month, so they don't hate us too much in that department.

" Not too bad, I'm just - _Noooo! Daaaa-ddyyyy! DAAADDYYY!"_

We both groaned at the tell-tale sign that something had pissed Austin off and that the day was not yet over.

"Ain't no rest for the wicked, Wife."

"You better get to it then, Husband."

"Because I love you, I'll deal with Draco and you can take Austin and Hartley."

"Oh thanks, so I've drawn the short straw, have I?"

Another scream filled the house. "By the sounds of it, it seems we both have."

**xxx**

"Hey! I was watching that!" Draco exclaimed after I switched the TV off without his permission.

"You know the rules, Buddy, you're not allowed to watch TV after the way you acted this morning."

"But I haven't seen that episode before."

"Draco, I don't give a monkey's left testicle right now. You misbehaved and then you were in another fight at school. TV is a reward which you don't deserve at the moment." He slumped back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest with a fed up sigh. "So, are you going to tell me what happened?"

"No."

"Fine, we'll just ask Mrs. Marcs; I think she'll be happy to tell us. We also need to talk about the way you act with your sister."

Groaning angrily again, Draco slapped his hands on the leather he was sitting on. "Everything is always about fucking Hartley."

"Oi, you are crossing a very fine line right now, young man. I do not want to hear you repeat those words. I don't think you quite understand how difficult it is for her, and to hear those nasty remarks from her big brother – someone she looks up to – is not going to make the situation any better."

"See! You always put her first, just because she can't fucking speak!"

That's it, strike three and he's outta here.

"Right, not only did you swear after I told you not to, but you also bad mouthed your sister. Now, I want you to go to your room and start getting ready for bed, please."

"But it's only seven o'clock! You're so unfair."

"You might think it's unfair, but you have to learn not to disobey my rules. Anymore of this back chat and you're not going to soccer on Saturday, do you understand?"

"Argh, you suck!" The eleven year old stormed away from me and made sure everybody could hear him, stomping his feet loudly on the stairs and then slamming his door closed.

It's times like these where I need a cigarette – even though Bella thinks I stopped.

Fuck it, I'm going to have one.

At the back door of the house, we have a mud room were all the outdoor clothing and boots are kept. There's a shelf right next to the door which only I can reach - hey presto, you've got yourself the perfect smoke and lighter hiding place. I told Bella they were Emmett's and he left them here…but that isn't entirely the truth.

Sitting on a stone slab step, I lit up and inhaled, nearly rolling my eyes at the relief I felt. It had been quite a long time since I last had one (four days ago during my lunch break) and after all the shit Draco caused, this crap felt magical. Now all I need is a six pack of beer and I'm set for the night.

"What's that in your mouth, daddy?"

_Fuck, caught red handed._

"What? This? Oh, it's my special medicine."

Austin wriggled his little butt to sit in the space next to me and the wall. I tried to keep the smoke as far away from him as possible.

He grimaced and fanned his hand in front of his face. "Your medidine smells funny."

"Yeah, it's not very nice." I watched the embers slowly burn their way down the paper, wishing that Austin could go back inside so I could take another drag before stubbing it out.

"Why do you need the medidine?"

"Sometimes when adults get tired and a little bit frustrated it helps them calm down a bit."

"When I'm a big year old do I, do I have to take it too?"

_When I'm a big year old. _

_Kids say the funniest shit sometimes._

"No, you don't have to have it."

"Good, 'cause I no like medidine."

"Don't worry, I'll tell mummy not to give you it."

Austin refused to go inside without me, so I take one last, long, drag and followed him back through. Bella was at the kitchen table with Hartley when we came through.

"Austin where were you? I told you to go to the toilet and come straight back again."

"I was outside with daddy having his medidine."

Hartley's homework had been forgotten about, and Bella looked at me with a confused frown. "Medicine? What medicine?"

"The white fings in your mouth that smells funny."

_Shiiiit._

It didn't take long for wifey to work out what he meant. Thank God we don't have a dog because I would have been taking his bed tonight. Bella's frown soon turned into an angry sneer.

"It's bath time, Aussie. And Edward, I think you need to have one too; there's a strong smell coming from you."

_Apply cold water directly onto the burn…_

**xxx**

"Cleaned your teeth? Gone to the toilet? Brushed your hair?"

"Yes, daddy."

"Well done, Princess." Scooting Hartley across her bed, I cuddled up next to her, putting one arm around her and holding the Dr. Seuss book between us. We have a rhyme that Hartley runs through – soon she'll manage to say it faultlessly and without any stutters. Her rhyme this time is from 'One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish'. "Remember, Princess, take a deep breath and think about each word before you say them. We're in no rush and you can take as long as you like."

"…Yes. Some are…red. And some are blue. Some are old. And some are….new. Some are sad. And some are…g-g-g…ggggggl…" Her head fell forward, even though it seemed like she had given up, Hartley went through her exercises and tried again. "And some are… glad. And some are vvvvery, very bad."

"Well done, Princess, I knew you could do it."

"Daddy?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are…Drrrrraco and…Auuuustin mean to me?"

"Let me tell you a story about brothers, Hartley. They can be mean and say nasty things, but if mummy and I aren't around and someone is mean to you, Draco will be there and he'll make sure you're okay. Brothers look out for their sisters, no matter what happens. But the one thing to remember when they tease you is not to react to it – they want to see you cry, or run away screaming, but if you sit there and don't say anything, they'll soon get bored."

I stood up from the bed, helped Hartley lie down and tucked the cover around her.

"Really?"

"Absolutely. Uncle Emmett and I used to tease Auntie Alice, but now we get on really well and are friends. But if you ever feel sad or they do something that you really don't like, come and tell me or mummy and we'll sort it out, okay, Sweetheart?"

"…Okay."

"Goodnight Princess. I love you."

"…Love you, daddy."

**xxx**

"Bells?"

"What is it, Eds?"

I know that she's annoyed with me – who wouldn't be? – but I had to get this off my chest and receive another person's opinion on the matter. "When I was talking to Draco earlier he said something that's been playing on my mind a bit."

She turned over in bed to look at me – the look of confusion filling her face. "Oh yeah? What's that?"

"Well I was talking to him about the way he treats Hartley and he suddenly said '_everything is always about fucking Hartley,' _and I'm wondering, do we put her first before the others?"

Bella nibbled on her lip in a way that made my mind go wild. "I don't think so…I mean, I know we have to put more into her therapy and what not, but we put the same amount of time into each child."

That still didn't settle my anxiety. "Yeah, but even so, I think this might be why he's so troublesome right now and all the fights at school – maybe he feels left out? I'm thinking I might take him out to do something on Saturday after soccer – throw a football about or catch a movie; some one-on-one time, y'know?"

Filling the space that separated us, she pressed a kiss against my cheek. "Sounds like an excellent idea; he'd love some time alone with his dad."

My hands slipped under the thin layer of her nightgown, over the smooth surface of her stomach and I suckled on her ear lobe. "I'd love some time alone with his mum, too." It didn't take us long to get deep in the display of affection. My wife beater seemed to fly off me and onto the floor somewhere. Bella was seconds away from removing me from the confines of my lounge pants when the door creaked open and a beam of light was cast over us.

_Fuck. _There stood Austin with his teddy tucked under one arm and a miserable expression on his little face. I pained me to slide away from my wife, but needs must.

"Aussie, love, what's the matter?"

"I hads a bad dream, can I sleep with you?"

It would be cruel to say 'no', wouldn't it? _Shit…_

"Come on then, bud. Up you come."

I'm buying a lock for that door. Pronto.

**xxx**

"_Mum! I can't find my soccer cleats!"_

"_Have you checked the Mud Room?"_

"_Muuu-mmyyy! I finished my Cap'n Crunch! More pleeeease!"_

"_Ask daddy please, Austin. I'm a little busy right now."_

"_Mum! My cleats aren't there!"_

"_Maybe you left them in the car, Draco."_

"_No! I gave them to you to get the mud out!"_

"_Daaaa-dddy! More Cap'n Crunch pleeeease!"_

"_Don't worry! I found them!"_

Saturday mornings in the Cullen house always start and end in the same fashion. Draco loses a part of his soccer kit, Austin demands our attention – from wiping his behind to getting more cereal, and whilst this is going on, Bella is helping Hartley go over some phrases before her speech therapy and I'm running over the paper work for the garage. There's never a dull moment in this house.

I drop the pen and file away the bills – in case a certain five-year-old goes a snooping – and head off to the kitchen to see said five-year-old. Austin is sitting patiently at the table, swinging his feet underneath his chair and waiting for someone to fill up his cereal bowl. Knocking his head from side to side, he sang a little song. "I… waaaaant… moooore… Cap'nnnnn… Crunnnnch…"

"What's the magic word, bud?"

"Pleeeease."

"Good boy. Okay, how many pieces?"

"Er…ten!" Pouring a small pile into my hand, I counted out ten cereal bits into his bowl. Austin stared at the contents with a scowl. "No…I want more than that!"

"Do you want another ten?"

"Er…a hundred!"

I gasped in false surprise. "One hundred pieces? Are you sure you can eat that much?"

"Yes, I can, I can. I'm a real big boy and I can eat aaaall my cereals."

I began to pour, I wasn't counting but his bowl was getting quite full, so I put a stop to the tipping and let Austin believe there was one hundred cereal bits waiting for him.

"Daddy I have a secret…" His eyes were wide in mischief.

"A secret? Can I hear it?"

We put our heads together, even though there was nothing silent about the way he spoke. "Mummy said to only has one glass of apple juice…I had two!"

_God, I love him._

"Two? You're so sneaky."

"Won't tell mummy, right?"

"No, I won't tell anyone – this can be our little secret."

The studs on Draco's cleats tapped against the kitchen tiles, he stood before me, kitted out in his soccer gear, outside jacket on but not zipped up and his bag hung against his hip. I passed him his water bottle and a banana for after the game. "Who's taking me today?"

"Mum is; I'm too busy here this morning, buddy."

He stomped his foot with an exasperated sigh then ran to the bottom of the stairs before shouting up: "Mum! Hurry up! We're going to be late!"

"_Get into the car please, Draco, I'm just coming. Hartley, I'm not telling you again to put your shoes on."_

My heart goes out to Bella, it really does. Handling one of our kids on your own is hard enough, let alone all three without anyone there to help you. Monday to Friday, breakfast, school runs, home time, homework, dinner and bed times all on her own with three very uncooperative children. I don't like working five days a week, sometimes twelve hour shifts, but with no other source of income and five people to live off my wages, we don't have an option. Bella completed her English studies whilst heavily pregnant with Hartley, and with that little bit of extra work she could become a teacher, but there is no time in her day for that. The plan is to start her teaching degree when Austin is a little older.

Hartley's screams got louder and louder as they got nearer. She was hanging on to Bella's side, sock clad feet kicking, her face was red and tears glistened in her eyes. Bella, on the other hand, had a face of fury, her bag hanging off an arm and her fingers hooked inside a little pair of shoes.

"Austin needs new sneakers – go to the mall for that. I'll see you later, bye."

I don't know how she opened the door, but she did anyway. They were out the house before I could call out, 'I love you…'

"Come on, bud, we're on strict orders by the mothership to go to the mall and we might not make it out alive."

**xxx**

"You have to hold my hand when we go in here, bud, okay? It's very busy." Streams of people were coming in and going out of the Westlake mall, and ever since I lost Draco when buying fucking flowers that one time, I've been a bit cautious with my children and busy places. We headed to the second floor and over to Foot Locker. A guy welcomed us with an over-enthusiastic smile, dressed out in his black and white striped shirt and told us to let him know if we needed any help.

After looking over all the shoes in the kids section, and asking Austin which one he liked the look of more, we chose some grey, Converse slip-ons and a pair of black, Nike Cortez. The same man who welcomed us came back over with the same smile glued to his face and took a note of the shoes and went to find them in the correct size.

Austin tried on each pair and went for a little walk around the bench I was sitting on. It took him a while to decide, and put my patience to the test, but it wasn't long before we were walking out the store with a brand new pair of Converse.

I _had _hoped to be home by the time Bella and the others got back, but my plan fell through when Austin shouted: "Hey, Auntie Alice!" Up ahead, my delightful sister was pushing my niece, Lucy, in the stroller and browsing through some shop windows. She searched around before seeing us walking over.

"Oh, hey you two. Edward, I can't recall ever seeing you in a mall." She smirked.

"My buddy needed new sneakers. I'm guessing Jasper isn't home, then?" At eight months pregnant with their second child, my brother-in-law doesn't let Alice in a place so crowded.

"No, he's in Montreal for a business trip. I'm sure I told you that…?"

Austin let go of my hand and went to kneel in front of the stroller, playing with Lucy's tiny feet. "Oh, yeah…sorry, must have slipped my mind. He's away for a week, right? Don't hesitate to phone us if you need something, okay?"

The famous Alice-Eye-Roll came into play. "Edward I'll be fine," she tapped her swollen stomach, "my little meatball will stay where he is for the time being." She gasped when noting the time on her watch. "Oh! Sorry, I need to dash – I'm meeting Rose and Maisey for a coffee in five minutes."

"Rose is here too? What is this, a family reunion or something?"

"Maisey has her Kindergarten Halloween parade on Monday; they need to find a costume, so we decided to meet up. Anyway, I'll call you later, okay?"

"Yeah, sure. Aussie, say bye-bye now."

"Bye!"

"See you later, Aus."

Even though we got caught up, I still managed to get home before the others, and helped Bella out by doing the washing up piled by the kitchen sink.

I'm such a doting husband.

**xxx**

"Eds?"

"Yes, Bells?"

I was sitting at my desk when Bella appeared behind me, slipping her arm down my chest and up onto the opposite shoulder, awkwardly hugging me. "I was wondering how your parents would feel babysitting…soon." She brushed her lips along my neck and when I turned my head, we made full impact.

"Hmm…I like the sound of that."

"We could drive to Forks on Friday night, they'll have a fun weekend with their grandparents and we could book a hotel room in Port Angeles – be close enough if anything goes wrong."

Scooting the chair back, I assisted Bella in sitting on my lap and wrapped my arms around her tired body when she fell into me. "Why, Mrs. Cullen, you sure are a smart one, sometimes."

"Only sometimes?"

"Yes," I kissed her, "only sometimes." She was quiet for some time, nibbling on her thumb in thought. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Mhmm…I was thinking what it would have been like, had you not changed your mind all those years ago…"

I'm never going to live that down, and I'll always hate myself for even thinking about walking away.

"I would have been a depressed alcoholic, living in a slumber, killing myself on cigarettes with no high standards set for myself or anything to work towards."

With a gasp, Bella spun her head to face me, eyes wide in sympathy and mouth agape. "You really think that?"

I could only shrug, "It's probable – I wouldn't have been happy, babe, and simply thinking about if you married somebody else and brought a new father figure in Draco's life turns my stomach." I wrapped my arms tighter around her, bringing us so close that I could only whisper. "But you don't have to worry about that, because I love you, I love the kids and that's all that matters."

"You know what I find oddly amazing? If I wasn't about to pee my pants that night of Emmett's party, and if I followed his directions and didn't turn off into your room, we wouldn't be here right now."

Damn, that's right. "So, what you're saying is that we should be thanking your bladder and not fate?"

With a coy smile, Bella licked her lips and fisted the neck of my shirt. "You can thank my bladder if you want, or you could just thank all of me…right now."

The atmosphere suddenly changed, and all I can say is _thank fuck _for thick walls.

**xxx**

"Oh, my God…Dad, look at this!"

For a father-son day trip, I took Draco to the Pacific Science Center. He's still really into his dragons, dinosaurs, science stuff and this is the perfect place to go. We only live a twenty minute drive away, but still have never managed to come here, which makes this day extra special. We were walking through the featured exhibitions – first one being _Tutankhamun: The Golden King and The Great Pharaohs._

"Wow, buddy, that's twice the size of you." Draco was standing face-to-face (or, face-to-groin) with a statue of King Tut. He was staring up at it in amazement. "It's says this is the largest statue of the pharaoh even unearthed, at ten feet tall."

"Wooow…was he really that big?"

"No, no – he was a lot smaller than that. This is just a statue to represent him."

We carried onto the next section, inspecting the intricate gold canopic coffinette that once held King Tut's mummified stomach. It took my explanations to help Draco understand what I meant, and he was soon acting like any normal eleven-year-old. _"That's so awesome! Can I do that to my stomach?"_

We followed the signs leading us to _Dinosaurs: A Journey Through Time, _I could practically feel the excitement radiating off of Draco as the loud roars came from up ahead. In the exhibit, were either life size or half size models of eight dinosaurs, looming over the room was the ferocious Tyrannosaurus Rex.

"Dad, they have my favourite one, look!" He ran over to a bulky looking dinosaur. I knew which one it was instantly, but I didn't want to ruin the fun in Draco telling me everything he knew. "It's a Triceratops – they only ate leaves and grass and green things and the horns around their heads helped protect them against bigger ones – like a T Rex. And see that one? The Deinonychus, they had a claw on the middle of their back feet which they used to rip the stomachs of predators."

It hit me then just how little I knew of his obsession. He's my son and I've been oblivious this whole time. He could look at a picture of a dinosaur, tell me their name without a second's hesitation, tell me their fighting tactics and whether they were a carnivore or a herbivore. How did I not know this until now? Is it true? Do we pay more attention to Hartley and Austin? Well whatever the reason is, I'm not going to let that slip past me again.

"Draco, that is seriously amazing. How do you know all of this?"

He was too busy checking out a fossil to look at me, "we did a project on them at school. I got an A for it, but you and mum were too busy with Hartley that night."

It was like someone grabbed a knife and stabbed it straight through my heart. We had paid so much attention to Hartley that we never noticed Draco getting an A in a project at school – he hates school, he never does his homework, yet he put all this effort into his dinosaur work and came out with the top score. And what did we do in praise? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

"Buddy, let's go over here a minute."

"Hey, but I'm looking at this!"

"I just want to talk to you for a second, Draco. Come on, we'll sit here." The hallway had some benches looking out the window which faced the ponds down below. "Draco, I'm so, so sorry."

"It doesn't matter…"

"No, it does matter; it matters a lot. I'm so proud of you and you're smart – I was blown away with all that dinosaur knowledge and you got an A for your project? That's amazing; I never got an A at school. I'm so sorry that we never noticed it, but remember, that that doesn't mean we love Hartley any more than you, because we love all three of you equally and that won't change."

"But it's _always _about Hartley." Draco refused to look at me and stared at his fisted hands that rubbed together roughly.

"It's not always about your sister, Draco, but we need you to understand that Hartley needs these therapy sessions and our time so we can help with her speech problem. It's not that we don't want to spend time with you, because we love our Draco moments, but if we're busy with Hartley, or helping Aussie with something, then we'll make the same time for you as well. You understand that, buddy?"

"Yeah."

"Can I have a hug, or is it too embarrassing to be seen hugging your old man in public?" I held my arms out anyway and with a shy smile, Draco pushed aside any awkwardness he felt to hug me. "I love you, bud, and nothing will change that, okay?"

"Okay."

"We had a good day, didn't we?"

"Yep. Dad, can we go to McDonalds for dinner?"

"McDonalds? Hmm…I don't see why not. Are you going to pay, yeah?"

"No! You're the dad, you pay."

That evening, I sat nursing a beer with everything Draco admitted to still flowing around me and then add that to what Bella asked me yesterday – what if I hadn't changed my mind? I wouldn't have any of this; I wouldn't have had Bella as my loving wife, welcoming me when I got home and loving me regardless of all the stupid things I get up to. I wouldn't have had my three children, all longing my attention day after day and even though they fight, and sometimes I want nothing more than to go on holiday and leave them here, I wouldn't change what I have for the world.

**xxx**

**And there we have it…**

**Thank you so much for following my silly story and it would mean the world to me if you could leave your final review, telling me your thoughts.**

**RosieRathbone xx**


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